Biden sues Texas over new law making illegally crossing the border arrestable offense

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed a law making it illegal to illegally cross the US-Mexico border into Texas. This law made it possible for Texas law enforcement officers to arrest illegal immigrants and jail them if convicted. The law, set to go into effect in March, has been challenged by the Biden administration.

President Joe Biden, whose Department of Justice has repeatedly attempted to prevent Texas from protecting their border amid the massive onslaught of illegal immigrants flooding across the Rio Grande, recently sued the state for implementing border barriers, such as razor wire, to deter crossers.

The Department of Justice alleged that the border law is unconstitutional, saying "Texas’s Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) creates purported state immigration crimes for unlawful entry and unlawful reentry, permits state judges and magistrates to order the removal of noncitizens from the country, and mandates that state officials carry out those removal orders.

"But Texas cannot run its own immigration system," it continued. "Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations. SB 4 is invalid and must be enjoined."

Texas would argue that the Biden administration also does not run their own immigration system, but instead lets everyone in and forces border states to figure out how to deal with the massive new population who has no shelter, food, or work.

This comes as leaders in the House GOP, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, visited the Texas border to see the immigration problem first hand. Biden's DOJ threatened to sue the state if they didn't say the law would not be enforced. Of course, Texas would not have passed the law were they not interested in enforcing it.

"Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Texans and Americans from President Biden’s open border policies," Renae Eze, communications director for Abbott, said. "President Biden’s deliberate and dangerous inaction at our southern border has left Texas to fend for itself."