Texas state troopers and Texas National Guard members now have the authority and power to apprehend and return undocumented migrants to any port of entry in the state of Texas under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s new executive order.
Abbott’s executive order has raised many questions and concerns about racial profiling and violation of powers due to federal agents and authorities only having the power to transport and apprehend migrants who are in the U.S illegally and having the authority to send them back.
Advocates are also commenting that only the federal government has the power and jurisdiction to enforce immigration law in the U.S, not individual states. Abbott legally justifies Article IV, § 4 of the US Constitution which states, “[t]he United States . . . shall protect each [State in this Union] against Invasion,” and thus has forced the State of Texas to build a border wall, deploy state military forces, and enter into agreements as described in Article I, § 10 of the U.S. Constitution to secure the State of Texas and repel the illegal immigration that funds the cartels”.
Border officials at different ports of entry in Texas have yet to see any undocumented migrants transported back by the state but, officials claim that Abbott has abused his authority and risked civil rights.
For more information on this case, you can find Abbott’s executive order and an article published by BorderReport down below.