AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF News ) – The clock is winding down on the Department of Justice’s threat to sue Texas over the state’s controversial new border law that takes effect March 5.
Senate Bill 4 criminalizes illegal border crossings, allows police to arrest those caught doing it and requires judges to expel them to Mexico.
Governor Greg Abbott signed SB4 into law in Brownsville last month.
In a press conference at the signing, Abbott pushed back at critics who said the law leads to racial profiling.
“They’re not profiling. They are seeing with their own eyes people who are violating the law and now they’re going to have the ability to arrest them and prosecute them. Make them subject to jail,” he said.
Democrat State Representative Victoria Neave of Dallas, an outspoken critic of the bill, said the law adds more work for police who are dealing with major crimes.
“They don’t have the time to focus on checking on whether folks are here with papers or not when they are trying to deal with the real crimes and issues facing our state,” she said.
In a letter to Governor Abbott, the DOJ stated that SB4 violates the United States Constitution and usurps federal law.
Texas is facing a deadline of Wednesday, January 3rd, to notify federal authorities that the law will not be enforced.
In addition to the Biden Administration’s threat, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit challenging the law in federal court less than 24 hours after the Governor signed SB4.
Meanwhile, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is among a GOP delegation who will visit Eagle Pass on Wednesday to get an update on the ongoing border crisis.
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