Gov. Abbott says he expects 'dramatic drop' in illegal border crossings with new state law
BROWNSVILLE – Texas Governor Greg Abbott predicts that illegal border crossings will plummet in Texas as a result of a new bill he signed into law.
"With SB 4, the consequences of it are so extreme the people being smuggled by the cartels, they will not be wanting to come into the State of Texas," he said. "Cartels will not be wanting to come into the State of Texas, and so we expect a dramatic drop, well over 50%, maybe 75% of the people coming across the border will stop entering through the State of Texas."
Abbott held the bill signing ceremony late Monday afternoon at a construction site for the state's border wall in Brownsville, along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, along with state lawmakers and Texas DPS troopers.
Abbott said the state's policies have already led to a decline in the number of migrants crossing into Texas. "Because of actions we have already taken, Texas, which used to be number one for illegal crossings, now has been displaced by Arizona, which is number one for illegal crossings. My point is actions and deterrence work."
Senate Bill 4, passed during the fourth special session, has attracted the most headlines because it allows the state to enforce immigration.
If a person is caught entering the state away from the legal port of entry, he or she would be charged with a class "B" misdemeanor and could either choose to return to Mexico or face prosecution.
Abbott said Monday the border is a dangerous place, and that the Biden administration has left the state no choice.
"The border patrol recently warned to take extreme caution when it learned that 10 IED's were found just across the border," he said. "The FBI Director warned that the border poses a threat to national security. Biden's deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself."
In an interview Monday afternoon, ACLU of Texas Senior Staff Attorney David Donatti vowed again to take the state to court over this law as soon as possible. "Our goal in filing quickly by which I mean in the coming weeks, is to give this case enough time to be heard by the courts of the United States to assure that we can block this law before it is ever used to harass or target or arrest any person by the state of Texas."
He said the courts have ruled only the federal government has jurisdiction over immigration laws, and that SB 4 and other bills will harm Texas communities. "They're intended to scare us and to divide us and will have real meaningful consequences to our families to individuals we love and so we will move to stop it, to prevent those harms from happening."
The ACLU of Texas and Democratic members of Congress from Texas are demanding the Justice Department to intervene.
In a statement, the Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, State Representative Victoria Neave Criado, D-Mesquite also wants the federal government to block the state law. "We urge the U.S. Justice Department to use every resource at their disposal to stop Governor Abbott in his tracks before SB 4 goes into effect causing mass arrests and family separations."
Senate Bill 4 is set to take effect in March.
He signed Senate Bill 3 from the fourth special session, which gives the state another $1.5 billion to expand the wall in an effort to keep people from illegally crossing into the state.
Abbott also signed Senate Bill 4 from the third special session.
The measure cracks down on human smuggling into Texas and illegal stash houses.
