Texas Lawmakers Vote to Allow Local Authorities to Arrest, Deport Illegal Immigrants

Lawmakers also allocated over $1 billion for a border wall. Opponents say the state has no authority over immigration and border security.

Illegal immigrants walk through razor wire surrounding a makeshift migrant camp after crossing the border from Mexico, in El Paso, Texas, on May 11, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

The Texas House of Representatives on Nov. 14 voted in favor of approving two of the strictest immigration laws in the country, both of which are aimed at bolstering security at the southern border.

Senate Bill 3, introduced by Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman and sponsored in the House by Republican state Rep. Jacey Jetton, would allocate $1.54 billion to continue building a wall at the southern border while also increasing law enforcement overtime and pay, including extra staffing to preserve public safety and security in the Colony Ridge housing development in Liberty County, Texas, which some officials say has become a hotbed for illegal immigrants and rising crime.

Under the measure, the $1.54 billion would be appropriated from the general revenue fund to the Trusteed Programs within the Office of the Governor for use during a two-year period beginning as soon as the bill goes into effect, for the purpose of “providing funding for border security operations and the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure.”

A total of $40 million would be set aside for more law enforcement presence in Colony Ridge, the measure states.

Senate Bill 4, introduced by Republican state Sen. Charles Perry and sponsored in the House by Republican state Rep. David Spiller, would make it a state misdemeanor to illegally cross or attempt to cross into Texas from Mexico at any location other than a lawful port of entry.

Under the bill, state and local law enforcement officials would be allowed to arrest suspected illegal immigrants and take their fingerprints and conduct a background check.

Judges would be granted the option to order some illegal immigrants to return to the country from which they illegally entered the United States, in lieu of prosecution, but only after all identifying information is obtained and cross-referenced with local, state, and federal criminal databases.

However, the misdemeanor charge would be raised to a felony charge if the illegal immigrant has previously been convicted of two or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against a person, or both or if the individual refuses to comply with the judge’s order to return to their home country.

The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor charge is one year in prison while for a felony the penalty is two to 20 years in prison.

Exceptions to Measure

The bill includes some exceptions, including that law enforcement officials may not arrest immigrants who entered the United States illegally if the individual is on the premises or grounds of a public or private primary or secondary school for educational purposes, in a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship, or in a health care facility.

It also states that immigrants can provide evidence that they are in the country legally during the prosecution.

During Tuesday’s debate in the House, lawmakers adopted an amendment to SB3, introduced by Democrat state Rep. Tracy King, that would allow some of the money to be used by local governments and law enforcement agencies to help enforce SB4.

The House passed SB3 in an 84–59 vote. The bill now heads back to the Senate, which previously approved the bill, so that lawmakers can vote on the amended version.

SB4 was passed in an 83–61 vote. That bill was passed by the Senate last week and now heads to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law.

Republican lawmakers, in introducing the bills, cited the ongoing immigration crisis which they said has been exacerbated by the Biden administration’s policies. This, they said, has left the state to take matters into its own hands.

“Creating a state crime for illegal border crossers will act as a strong deterrent and allow our law enforcement officers more authority to secure the border,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a Nov. 9 statement.

Once signed into law, SB4 will be “without question, the strongest stand that any state has taken to protect its citizens and its sovereignty,” he said.

Questions Raised Over Federal, State Powers

Meanwhile, Ms. Huffman said SB3 provides critical funding for law enforcement and ensures that “every dangerous individual” is apprehended and “every ounce of drugs that have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation” is seized.

In her own statement, Ms. Jetton said the Biden administration’s open-border policies “have created a humanitarian and public safety crisis at our southern border.”

“While the federal government fails to keep drug cartels, human traffickers, convicted criminals, and dangerous drugs like fentanyl out of our country, Texas will continue to step up to ensure the safety of our communities,” the lawmaker added.

Democrats and other opponents, however, have raised concerns over the two bills, saying they may lead to racial profiling. Some questioned the constitutionality of the measures.

“Senate Bill 4 is the broadest, most invasive piece of legislation to ever potentially challenge the very nature of our federal and state power. The power to enforce immigration is unquestionably, exclusively a federal power,” Democrat state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, the chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, said during Tuesday’s debate, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on June 8, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

ACLU Threatens Lawsuit

Elsewhere, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claimed in a social media post that Senate Bill 4 is “one of the country’s most radical anti-immigrant laws ever,” deeming it “white supremacy in action that will encourage racial profiling and separate Texas families.”

The organization also threatened to sue Texas Gov. Greg Abbott if he signed the measure into law.

“This legislation is completely out of touch with our values and who we aspire to be as Texans. Senate Bill 4 overrides federal immigration law, fuels racial profiling and harassment, and gives state officials the unconstitutional ability to deport people without due process, regardless of whether they are eligible to seek asylum or other humanitarian protections,” the ACLU said. “If signed into law, these bills will directly harm people seeking asylum, Black and Brown communities, and the core principles of our democracy.

“It’s shameful that the governor and his allies are wasting taxpayer money on this unlawful cruelty instead of addressing our real needs.”

Republican lawmakers, however, maintained that the measures are aimed at protecting Texas communities, noting that the state is within its rights to protect and defend its borders.

“It’s a landmark bill that allows Texas to protect Texans and to send illegal immigrants back, and to prosecute and incarcerate those that refuse to leave,” Mr. Spiller said.

The Republican also stressed that illegal immigrants who crossed the border more than two years ago would not be affected by the measure, noting that misdemeanors have a two-year statute of limitations.

“When the representation to the general public is, the Texas House is about to pass something that’s going to round up someone’s grandmother that’s been here all their life, that is completely false,” Mr. Spiller said, according to The Texas Tribune.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told ABC News that the removal of noncitizens is the federal government’s responsibility.

“Generally speaking, the federal government, not individual states, is charged with determining how and when to remove noncitizens for violating immigration laws,” the agency spokesperson said.

“State actions that conflict with federal law are invalid under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution,” the spokesperson added.