2023-12-19 09:04:56
Texas Governor Greg Abott signs three bills at a construction site in Brownsville, United States, December 18, 2023. VALERIE GONZALEZ / AP
The governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, signed a controversial law on Monday December 19 criminalizing illegal entry into this southern American state, which borders Mexico, a prerogative in principle reserved for federal authorities.
This outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, who accuses the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden of“deliberate inaction” faced with illegal immigration, symbolically signed this law in Brownswille, in front of a section of the wall on the border with Mexico, the flagship project of the former Republican president. The law “creates a criminal offense of illegal entry into Texas from a foreign country”and provides for up to twenty years in prison in the event of repeat offenses, said the governor.
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The text, supposed to come into force in March, also gives state authorities the power to arrest migrants and deport them to Mexico, a federal jurisdiction, which augurs legal action on its constitutionality .
The Mexican government reacted to the vote on this law on November 15 by “categorically rejecting any measure that empowers local or state authorities to arrest and return Mexican citizens or foreigners to Mexico”according to a press release from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Trump, campaigning to retake the White House, and Mr Abbott accuse US President Joe Biden of turning a blind eye to illegal immigration at the southern border, mainly made up of nationals from Latin American countries who say flee poverty and violence.
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