AUSTIN, TX - The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is saying that it plans to sue the state of Texas over a new law that was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on December 18th.
The law, known as Senate Bill 4, states that it is illegal to enter the state of Texas from a foreign country between ports of entry and if caught doing so, is now considered a crime against the state. This law is the first of its kind throughout the entire country.
Abbott signed three border bills while sitting in front of the first wall Texas built on state soil. He is the first governor in the country to direct and allocate funding for the construction of a border wall on state soil. Senate Bill 4 states that its goal is to "stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas" by creating a new state criminal offense for illegal entry into Texas from a foreign nation.
According to the new law, the new crime is a Class B misdemeanor carrying a punishment of up to six months in jail. However, repeat offenders who keep trying to illegally re-enter Texas can face up to 20 years in state prison. In light of the bill signing, immigrant rights organizations, Democrats, the Biden administration and other federal officials allege that this new law is "unconstitutional" because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
However, some Texas Republicans are hopeful that the new law will push the issue back before the United States Supreme Court. The law is slated to go into effect on March 5th, 2024, but two lawsuits that have already been filed will likely halt the enforcement of the law.
Within less than 24 hours of Abbott signing SB 4 into law, El Paso county and several groups filed lawsuits. One of their attorneys stated that, "Governor Abbott's efforts to circumvent the federal immigration system and deny people the right to due process is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerously prone to error, and will disproportionately harm black and brown people regardless of their immigration status."
On Thursday, December 28th, Prinicpal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton sent a letter to Governor Abbott stating that SB 4 is "unconstitutional and will disrupt federal government operations." The DOJ intends to bring its own lawsuit against the state of Texas to enforce the supremacy of federal law.
The letter said that Texas has until January 3rd, 2024, to "confirm" that SB 4 will not be enforced. If Texas chooses to ignore the letter, the DOJ will, "pursue all appropriate legal remedies to ensure that Texas does not interfere with the functions of the federal government."
In response, Abbott stated that he intends to take all legal challenges on his Texas border bills to the U.S. Supreme Court. After signing the three bills into law, Abbott said, "Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in about 40 years because of four policies implemented by the Trump administration."
He said that after President Biden eliminated those policies, the U.S. has seen the highest number of illegal border crossings in the country's entire history. He added, "Last year, there was more than 2.4 million apprehended crossing the border illegally." That he said, is "larger than the size of Houston," which is the largest city in Texas.
While other cities like Chicago and New York City see a "migrant crisis," Abbott said, "I don't think they truly know the magnitude of the damage caused to the United States by Joe Biden because three times the number of residents of Chicago have entered illegally under Joe Biden and about equal the amount of total population in New York City have entered the country illegally under Joe Biden."
These numbers he said, excludes "gotaways."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defines the term "gotaways" as those who illegally enter the U.S primarily between ports of entry, intentionally seeking to evade capture by law enforcement, and don't turn back to Mexico or Canada.
Since January of 2021, an estimated 1.7 million gotaways have illegally entered the country, making the numbers Abbott cited estimated likely to be significantly higher. Abbott pointed to the national security threats posed by the sheer volume of illegal border crossers, citing FBI Director Wray's warning about a "likely terrorist attack."
Abbott said, President Biden's "deliberate inaction has left Texas to defend itself" and pointed to Article 1 Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, which "empowers states to take action to defend themselves" and according to the governor, that is "exactly what Texas is doing."
The law, known as Senate Bill 4, states that it is illegal to enter the state of Texas from a foreign country between ports of entry and if caught doing so, is now considered a crime against the state. This law is the first of its kind throughout the entire country.
Abbott signed three border bills while sitting in front of the first wall Texas built on state soil. He is the first governor in the country to direct and allocate funding for the construction of a border wall on state soil. Senate Bill 4 states that its goal is to "stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas" by creating a new state criminal offense for illegal entry into Texas from a foreign nation.
According to the new law, the new crime is a Class B misdemeanor carrying a punishment of up to six months in jail. However, repeat offenders who keep trying to illegally re-enter Texas can face up to 20 years in state prison. In light of the bill signing, immigrant rights organizations, Democrats, the Biden administration and other federal officials allege that this new law is "unconstitutional" because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
However, some Texas Republicans are hopeful that the new law will push the issue back before the United States Supreme Court. The law is slated to go into effect on March 5th, 2024, but two lawsuits that have already been filed will likely halt the enforcement of the law.
Within less than 24 hours of Abbott signing SB 4 into law, El Paso county and several groups filed lawsuits. One of their attorneys stated that, "Governor Abbott's efforts to circumvent the federal immigration system and deny people the right to due process is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerously prone to error, and will disproportionately harm black and brown people regardless of their immigration status."
On Thursday, December 28th, Prinicpal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton sent a letter to Governor Abbott stating that SB 4 is "unconstitutional and will disrupt federal government operations." The DOJ intends to bring its own lawsuit against the state of Texas to enforce the supremacy of federal law.
The letter said that Texas has until January 3rd, 2024, to "confirm" that SB 4 will not be enforced. If Texas chooses to ignore the letter, the DOJ will, "pursue all appropriate legal remedies to ensure that Texas does not interfere with the functions of the federal government."
In response, Abbott stated that he intends to take all legal challenges on his Texas border bills to the U.S. Supreme Court. After signing the three bills into law, Abbott said, "Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in about 40 years because of four policies implemented by the Trump administration."
He said that after President Biden eliminated those policies, the U.S. has seen the highest number of illegal border crossings in the country's entire history. He added, "Last year, there was more than 2.4 million apprehended crossing the border illegally." That he said, is "larger than the size of Houston," which is the largest city in Texas.
While other cities like Chicago and New York City see a "migrant crisis," Abbott said, "I don't think they truly know the magnitude of the damage caused to the United States by Joe Biden because three times the number of residents of Chicago have entered illegally under Joe Biden and about equal the amount of total population in New York City have entered the country illegally under Joe Biden."
These numbers he said, excludes "gotaways."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defines the term "gotaways" as those who illegally enter the U.S primarily between ports of entry, intentionally seeking to evade capture by law enforcement, and don't turn back to Mexico or Canada.
Since January of 2021, an estimated 1.7 million gotaways have illegally entered the country, making the numbers Abbott cited estimated likely to be significantly higher. Abbott pointed to the national security threats posed by the sheer volume of illegal border crossers, citing FBI Director Wray's warning about a "likely terrorist attack."
Abbott said, President Biden's "deliberate inaction has left Texas to defend itself" and pointed to Article 1 Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, which "empowers states to take action to defend themselves" and according to the governor, that is "exactly what Texas is doing."
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Comments
2023-12-30T20:03-0500 | Comment by: Jean
Article 4. Section 4 Govt to protect states against invasion
2023-12-31T17:27-0500 | Comment by: Hal
"This law is the first of its kind throughout the entire country." No it's not. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 was passed in 2010. "The Arizona act made it also a state misdemeanor for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents, and required that state law enforcement officers attempt to determine an individual's immigration status during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest" when there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is an illegal immigrant." Obama's Department of Justice sued Arizona. The case went to the Supreme Court in 2012 and parts of SB 1070 were deemed to be invalid.
2024-01-01T13:35-0500 | Comment by: Jim
So it is a FEDERAL Law, so what? Police Officers, even City Police take an Oath to enforce ALL LAWS, City, County, State, and Federal laws as they are to enforce all laws. There was a time over 50 years ago when I was a City Police Officer in San Diego, Ca. when we routinely arrested illegal Aliens and immediately took them to the Border Patrol Station for removal. Nothing was said about that and the US Citizens appreciated it, including the Hispanic's who were here legally!
2024-01-01T17:36-0500 | Comment by: Les
The DOJ is NOT enforcing Boarder Laws. So it is up to our boarder states to Protect our boarders, PERIOD.
2024-02-01T21:39-0500 | Comment by: TWSfSopc
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2024-02-01T21:40-0500 | Comment by: TWSfSopc
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2024-02-01T21:41-0500 | Comment by: TWSfSopc
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2024-02-01T21:41-0500 | Comment by: TWSfSopc
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