WHY
IT'S IMPORTANT
The law, known as SB4 or Senate Bill 4, makes it a state crime
to illegally enter or re-enter Texas from a foreign country and
gives state and local law enforcement authorities the power to
arrest and prosecute violators. It also allows state judges to
order that individuals be deported, with up to 20-year prison
sentences for those who refuse to comply.
The Justice Department's lawsuit comes about two weeks after a
lawsuit by civil rights groups that also challenged the new
Republican-backed Texas law.
KEY QUOTES
"SB 4 is clearly unconstitutional," said Associate Attorney
General Vanita Gupta.
"Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and longstanding
Supreme Court precedent, states cannot adopt immigration laws
that interfere with the framework enacted by Congress," Gupta
said in a statement released by the U.S. Justice Department on
Wednesday.
CONTEXT
The Republican-controlled Texas legislature passed the measure
in November. The state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott,
signed the law in December.
The Mexican government, whose foreign ministry describes the
Texas law as an "anti-immigrant measure," welcomed the Justice
Department's lawsuit and said measures like the legislation
could foster hate crimes against migrant communities.
Texas is already embroiled in a series of court cases related to
Abbott's efforts to deter and punish illegal border crossings.
Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the
U.S.-Mexico border since President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took
office in 2021. Abbott and other Republicans blame Biden, who is
seeking re-election in 2024, for rolling back restrictive
policies of former President Donald Trump, the leading candidate
for the Republican Party nomination.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting
by Kylie Madry in Mexico City; Editing by Leslie Adler and
Sonali Paul)
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