Washington DC, US/Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Reuters
Mexico filed a court brief supporting the US Department of Justice’s opposition to a Republican-backed Texas law that would empower state authorities to arrest and prosecute people suspected of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.
The law, known as Senate Bill 4, would make it a state crime to illegally enter or re-enter Texas from a foreign country and would allow state judges to order that violators leave the United States, with prison sentences up to 20 years for those who refuse to comply. It has been blocked by a federal judge and is currently under appeal.
Migrants gather near the border fence after they forced their way by breaking through razor wire and a fence, as SB 4 law that would empower law enforcement authorities in the state to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border was temporarily blocked, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on 21st March, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/David Peinado
“Mexico is deeply concerned that SB 4 will be applied in a discriminatory manner and fears that its enforcement will lead to improper harassment, detention, removal, and criminalization of Mexican citizens and individuals of Latino appearance,” the document said.
Critics of the measure point out that migrants who cross the border can already be charged with illegal entry or re-entry under US federal laws, and immigrant advocates say a state law could fuel racial profiling.
On Thursday, dozens of migrants broke through fencing and razor wire and knocked down some Texas military forces in El Paso, Texas, after waiting on the US side of the Rio Grande, a Reuters witness said.
The group pushed past the forces to a sector of border wall where they could be processed by US Border Patrol, the witness said.
By 3pm, the migrants had been “moved from the site” and now “the situation is under control,” US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
About 139,000 migrants have been apprehended in the area around El Paso since 1st October, 2023, according to internal CBP statistics, making it one of the busier stretches of the border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has taken a range of actions to discourage border crossings, saying Democratic President Joe Biden has not adequately secured the border.
The Biden administration says that some Texas actions have interfered with immigration enforcement, which has historically been the realm of the federal government.
A migrant checks her bag after members of the Texas National Guard burnt clothing used by migrants to break through razor wire and a fence to enter the US to surrender themselves, as SB 4 law that would empower law enforcement authorities in the state to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border was temporarily blocked, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on 21st March, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/David Peinado
Mexico underscored its concern about the potential repercussions of the Texas law on US-Mexico trade and commercial relations, as well as relations between Mexico and the state.
“If S.B. 4 is ever fully implemented, Mexican citizens, regardless of their immigration status and country of residence, will be rightly afraid to visit Texas, engage in commercial trucking through Texas, or travel on rail through Texas, for work or pleasure, out of concern that they will be subject to unlawful police scrutiny and detention,” Mexico said.
