Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed one of the harshest Texas immigration law 2023 in modern U.S. history. By authorizing state officials to arrest and seek the deportation of migrants suspected of crossing the border with Mexico The law is known as SB4. It gives Texas law enforcement much authorities of the power to stop, arrest and jail migrants on new, state-level illegal entry charges. It also allows state judges to issue de facto deportation orders which is against suspected violators of the law, though it’s unclear how this provision could be enforced.
Texas immigration law 2023
“The goal of Senate Bill 4 is to stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas,” Abbott said at a signing ceremony along the border in Brownsville. “Senate Bill 4 is now law in the state of Texas.”
When Does SB4 Take Effect?
The law is set to take effect from March 2024, though that could change depending on the outcome of one or more legal challenges, the first of which was filed just hours after Abbott’s ceremony.
What Does SB4 do?
Crossing into the U.S. outside of an official port of entry is already a federal crime, though most migrants’ violations are treated as civil cases in the immigration court system. SB4 would make illegal immigration a state crime, ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony.
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Under SB4, crossing into Texas illegally from Mexico would be treated as a misdemeanor crime, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Illegal reentry into Texas would be a felony offense, punishable with up to 2, 10 or 20 years in jail, depending on whether the migrant in question had been previously deported or convicted of certain crimes.
SB4 includes a provision that bars state officials from arresting migrants in certain locations, including schools, places of worship and health care facilities.
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