Texas advances bill allowing police to arrest migrants at border
- One bill would make it illegal to enter Texas from Mexico
- A first-time offender could be convicted of a misdemeanor
- Texas has bused more than 50,000 migrants to sanctuary cities
Migrants wait to get into a U.S. government bus after crossing the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. According to the Ciudad Juarez Human Rights Office, hundreds of mostly Central American migrants arrived in buses and crossed the border to seek asylum in the US, after spending the night in shelters. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
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(NewsNation) — A bill that would allow state police in Texas to arrest migrants who cross the southern border advanced in Texas on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, the state Senate advanced two immigration-related bills amid moves by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to give Texas police expanded powers over border enforcement.
Senate Bill 11 would create a new state crime targeting many asylum-seekers and other immigrants for arrest and prosecution.
The bill would make it illegal to enter Texas from Mexico and authorize state police to arrest violators, the Tribune reports.
A first-time offender could be convicted of a misdemeanor, according to the Tribune, but could be charged with a felony if the person has a criminal record or was a repeat offender.
A second bill would increase the minimum sentence for smuggling migrants, according to the Tribune.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas have condemned the Texas Senate’s passage of the two bills, calling them “extremist” and “anti-immigrant.”
Opponents of the bills also argued it would overwhelm local jails and require significant funding.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about 1.1 million migrants were encountered by federal border agents along the Texas border in the 11 months before the end of August.
Proponents of the Texas bills say it would give the state much-needed tools in the fight to alleviate the strain of new arrivals on small border cities.
Abbott has been busing migrants from Texas to large Democratic sanctuary cities in the North.
Abbott maintains the controversial practice of migrant busing is a result of President Joe Biden’s policies.
Texas has bused more than 50,000 migrants north, according to New York Times reporting, helping to ignite a migrant shelter crisis in several cities including New York City, Chicago and Denver.
