Texas is one step closer to giving police the authority to arrest immigrants and deport them from the United States after state Republicans approved a new bill on Thursday.
The proposal, known as House Bill 4, would give police broad powers to arrest and remove undocumented immigrants, something that was previously under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government.
It would also give all Texas police officers the power to detain immigrants if they refuse to leave the United States.
A similar bill has already passed the Texas Senate, meaning Republicans must now agree to a unifying version of the bills before sending it to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott, who is prepared to sign it into law.
Republican state Rep. David Spiller, the author of the House bill, said the bill was necessary for the Lone Star State to handle the continued influx of migrants crossing the border in recent years.
Migrants walk along the border wall in south Texas on October 22REUTERS Texas police could soon have the power to arrest, detain and deport migrants who cross the border.NYPJ
“Our calls for help enforcing existing federal immigration laws have been ignored by President Biden. “We have had enough,” he stated.
El Paso has been especially hard hit, and officials in the border city said it reached “a breaking point” last month when more than 2,000 migrants were detained each day.
Spiller touted his bill as a “humane, logical and efficient approach” to addressing immigration in Texas.
“There is nothing unfair about ordering someone to return from their place of origin if they came here illegally,” he said.
The Texas House also approved $1 billion to invest in more barriers along the border. REUTERS The bill is the latest controversial deterrent Texas hopes to deploy to combat illegal immigration after previously installing razor wire along the border. REUTERS
State Democrats, however, criticized the bill as an overreach of power that could risk involuntary arrests of American citizens and lead to greater distrust between immigrant communities and police.
“You don’t understand that the (expletive) you make hurts our community,” state Rep. Armando Walle said during heated debates over the bill Wednesday and Thursday. “It hurts us personally.”
Ana Gonzales of the Texas AFL-CIO labor organization added that the bill could harm the Texas workforce and economy, as undocumented workers could be forced to go into hiding to avoid arrest, KVUE reports.
A group of migrants was seen near the border wall in Ciudad Juárez on Sunday. REUTERS
“The Legislature is considering a measure that will hurt construction businesses and workers,” Gonzales told the Texas House of Representatives. “Workers deserve dignity and respect, regardless of their immigration status.”
The Texas bill is the state’s latest attempt to crack down on illegal border crossing after a year of other controversial tactics, including busing tens of thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities, installing of barbed wire along the border and the installation of water barriers in the Rio Grande.
If the bill passes and is approved by Abbott, it will likely face challenges in court, with opponents claiming it is a clear violation of US law as deportation powers rest solely with the federal government.
Along with the bill to expand police power, the Texas House also voted to set aside more than $1 billion to build barriers along the border and increase human trafficking sentences for stop migrant trafficking.
With postal cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn