Texas arrests thousands of illegal immigrants for crime of crossing border

The news comes as officials ramp up their efforts to secure the boundary between Texas and Mexico.

According to Fox News, nearly 10,000 illegal migrants have been apprehended via the "arrest and jail" initiative, which gave those who owned land next to the border the option to enter into agreements with state authorities giving the latter the right to arrest anyone found crossing into the US via the properties and charge them with misdemeanor trespassing.

"When people start learning about this, they're going to stop coming across the Texas border," Abbott said upon passing the law in July 2021.

That year, there were 1.2 million crossings recorded between Mexico and Texas. Contrary to what Abbott predicted, that number has actually gone up under Biden administration policies. In Fiscal Year 2023, over 1.5 million people crossed the border.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, which is in charge of overseeing the trespassing arrests, has nonetheless defended the program, with spokeswoman Ericka Miller pointing out that many of those apprehended were gang members, sex offenders, and human traffickers.

"Had we not been there, all of it likely would have crossed into the country unimpeded," Miller said in a statement to the Associated Press. "The state of Texas is working to send a message to those considering crossing into the country illegally to think again."

Under the new set of laws, which Abbott signed on December 20, police will "crack down on repeated attempts to enter Texas by creating the offense of illegal reentry," essentially making it a crime punishable at the state level to illegally enter Texas from a foreign nation.

Those who break the law can be penalized with up to 20 years in prison.

Authorities will also be able to "order an offender to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter this state," and, "provides civil immunity and indemnification for local and state government officials, employees, and contractors for lawsuits resulting from the enforcement of these provisions."