A US judge suspends the controversial Texas law that authorizes police to expel migrants

A US judge this Thursday suspended the entry into force of a controversial Texas law that allows police authorities to detain and expel migrants whom they suspect of having entered the United States illegally, the plaintiffs reported.

The law, which was expected to go into effect next Monday and is temporarily suspended, is one of the most drastic anti-immigrant measures in American history. Immigrant advocates have warned that the law will lead directly to racial discrimination, especially against Hispanics.

The measure (SB 88-4) was demanded by civil rights groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last December just days after being signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican. , the main driver of the measure.

After hearing the ruling, Abbott announced that he would immediately appeal. “Texas has the right to defend itself due to President (Joe) Biden's continued failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from invasion at our southern border,” he said in a statement. Abbott indicated that he intends to take this case all the way to the Supreme Court.

The plaintiffs allege that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the supremacy of federal law, which regulates immigration in the United States, over measures approved by a state.

The law makes it a misdemeanor for a foreigner to “enter or attempt to enter the state from a foreign nation” irregularly.. The offense becomes a serious crime, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, if the offender is a repeat offender.

The initiative also allows the state Justice to order the expulsion of people without a legal process. Additionally, police officers will be able to arrest any individual they suspect of having entered the country illegally, and will have the discretion to expel them to Mexico instead of arresting them.

Anand Balakrishnan, an attorney with the ACLU's Immigrant Rights Project, said in a statement that the federal court's decision “confirms” the illegality of the measure.

Edna Yang, co-executive director of American Gateways, another of the plaintiff organizations, stressed that “the only way to fix our broken immigration system is through federal Congressional action, not individual state action.”

Biden and Trump at the southern border

The temporary decision issued by the Federal Court of the Western District of Texas comes just when President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, separately, arrived at the southern border of that state this Thursday to advance their electoral campaigns around immigration. .

The US president meets with members of the Border Patrol and local authorities and leaders in Brownsville, while Trump will be 500 kilometers northeast in Eagle Pass, where Abbott has instituted several measures that challenge federal power over immigration. The plaintiffs anticipated that the Texas government would most likely appeal the court's temporary decision.

Rejection of the law

The law was rejected by local governments such as El Paso, which participated in the lawsuit. Iliana Holguín, a county commissioner, applauded the court's decision in a statement and said the law “would impose an undue burden on local taxpayers, while opening the door to possible violations of residents' civil rights.” borders”.

For his part, Domingo García, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest Hispanic organization in the US, said in a statement that “Abbott and other right-wing politicians must stop wasting millions of US taxpayer dollars.” Texas and lying to Texans that they are actually detaining immigrants.”

He accused Republican leaders of being “complicit with smugglers” of migrants by sending new arrivals to other U.S. cities and failing to work on a bipartisan immigration plan to resolve the humanitarian crisis at the border.