Key takeaways:
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed two new border bills into law, prompting a lawsuit from civil rights organizations.
- The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas branch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project.
- The lawsuit argues that the measure is unconstitutional because the federal government has sole authority over immigration.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed two new border bills into law, prompting a lawsuit from civil rights organizations who argue that the laws are unconstitutional. The bills, which are set to take effect in March, would allow police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally and permit local judges to order them to leave the country.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas branch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project. Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has also spoken out against the new law, accusing Abbott of wanting to gain popularity with the measures in order to become the Republican nominee for vice president.
“In the United States he wants to gain popularity with these measures,” López Obrador said. “He wants to be the Republican Party’s vice presidential candidate. You are not going to win anything,” he warned Abbott. “On the contrary, he will lose sympathy because in Texas there are many Mexicans, many migrants.”
The new law has been met with criticism from civil rights organizations and foreign leaders alike. The lawsuit argues that the measure is unconstitutional because the federal government has sole authority over immigration. It remains to be seen how the courts will rule on the matter.
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