Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland joined Americas Newsroom to discuss the ongoing legal battle between Texas and the Biden administration over the state’s law allowing police to arrest migrants. Texas Governor Greg Abbott stood by his state’s efforts to control illegal immigration, placing blame on the Biden administration for leaving the southern border vulnerable and promising to continue arresting illegal immigrants.
Abbott addressed the Texas Public Policy Foundation after oral arguments concluded at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the case challenging S.B.4, Texas’ anti-illegal immigration law signed in December. This law allows police to arrest individuals suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. Despite S.B.4 being temporarily blocked, Abbott emphasized that Texas still possesses the legal authority to arrest those crossing the border illegally. The state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) has already arrested over 40,000 individuals for illegal border crossings.
The Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas in January, arguing that the law encroached upon federal authority on immigration enforcement. The Department of Justice claimed that Texas’ efforts through S.B.4 interfere with U.S. immigration operations and proceedings and infringe upon foreign relations. However, Abbott countered that the law is necessary because the Biden administration has failed to secure the border and is violating U.S. laws.
The Fifth Circuit of Appeals had previously blocked the law from taking effect. However, the Supreme Court, not ruling on the merits of the case, allowed the law to go into effect on Tuesday evening and referred it back to the Fifth Circuit. Hours later, the Fifth Circuit once again halted the law, pending oral arguments on the case’s merits scheduled for Wednesday.
Abbott likened the back-and-forth legal battle to a tennis match and noted that the stay on the law from the Fifth Circuit remained in place. Texas and the Biden administration have been engaged in various disputes over the border. In January, Texas seized Shelby Park, a significant area for migrant crossings in Eagle Pass, and denied federal officials access to the location. The two sides have also clashed in court over the construction of razor wire by Texas and the establishment of buoys in the Rio Grande.
Abbott asserted that he had no intention of backing down in the face of the legal challenge. Texas DPS announced on Wednesday that it had arrested 17 illegal immigrants this week for unlawfully entering private property along the Rio Grande, enforcing state law for criminal trespass. The arrested individuals were from Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Honduras and were held in a state facility.
“We will continue to build those border barriers, keep the buoys in the water, build a Texas border wall, doing everything we can to protect the sovereignty of the state of Texas and the United States of America,” Abbott declared.
Adam Shaw, a politics reporter for Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security, provided this article. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter. Stay updated with the latest news from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews, and more political content by subscribing to this newsletter.
