Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said this week that his administration would continue enforcing border protections deporting illegal immigrants from the state. The statement came amid an ongoing legal dispute with the federal government regarding the law as well as stricter border control along the Rio Grande.
The governor said this week that even as the courts will decide the fate of Senate Bill 4, the state would still detain migrants attempting to enter Texas.
“Even without S.B. 4, Texas has the legal authority to arrest people coming across the razor wire barriers on our border, and we will continue to use our arrest authority and arrest people coming across the border illegally,” the governor said.
“Number one, we are facing such dangerous situations. And number two, Joe Biden, through his actions, is violating the laws of the United States of America,” he said.
Clashes between dozens of migrants and the Texas National Guard in El Paso, Texas after the migrants attempted to cross the border. https://t.co/J8zOpwbtW7
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Abbott’s statement came during a back-and-forth regarding the state law. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the implementation of the law. However, the Supreme Court determined that it needed more time to judge the constitutionality of the law, and then sent the decision back to the Fifth Circuit, which held the law pending further arguments.
The governor likened the current court situation to watching a “tennis match.”
The governor put in place Operation Lone Star utilizing state police and the Texas National Guard to help prevent migrant crossings. The operation has been successful so far, dramatically reducing the flow of migrants at a major crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The area around Eagle Pass has seen about a 99% drop in migrant crossings since the border protections were put into place.
The action also halted a number of drug smuggling and human trafficking operations.
The Biden administration also challenged Texas’ efforts to block migrant crossings through the use of floating barricades and razor wire. The administration argued that only the federal government had the authority to enforce immigration law.
