The Justice Department is suing Texas over a bill Governor Greg Abbott signed into law last month that allows local police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally. The law also gives judges the power to order migrants to leave the U.S.
The law has already been met with a lot of opposition; some critics said it could lead to racial profiling, and some sheriffs said it would overwhelm local jails and courts. The DOJ asked a federal court in Austin, Texas, to rule that the new law is unconstitutional as it violates the Supremacy Clause, which establishes that federal laws take precedence over state laws.
“Texas cannot run its own immigration system. Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations,” the lawsuit said.
Meanwhile, Abbott contends that the law is necessary as he called President Biden out for inaction as migrants continue to flood the southern border at record numbers.
“The authors of the United States Constitution foresaw a situation when the federal government would be inattentive to states that faced challenges at their borders, and in response, they inserted Article One, Section Ten, to the United States Constitution to empower states to take action to defend themselves,” Gov. Abbott said when he signed the bill into law. “And that is exactly what Texas is doing.”
Abbot said that Texas has been left to fend for itself. In a post on “X” referring to the lawsuit, Abbot said, “I like my chances.” As of now the law is set to go into effect on March 5.
