Abbott authorizes troopers, Guard members to arrest and return migrants

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order on Thursday authorizing the state’s National Guard and Department of Public Safety to arrest migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border in the state illegally and return them to Mexico.

“While President Biden refuses to do his job and enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress, the State of Texas is once again stepping up and taking unprecedented action to protect Americans and secure our southern border,” Abbott said of his order.

The American Immigration Council (AIC) responded to Abbott’s order on Thursday, arguing that it ignored a previous Supreme Court ruling that states cannot carry out immigration enforcement.

“Authorizing state law enforcement to deport migrants could expose law enforcement agents to significant legal risk,” the council wrote in a statement, citing a separate executive order by Abbott that was struck down by a judge last year.

AIC Policy Director Aaron Reichlin-Melnick added: “Federal law is clear: states may not carry out immigration enforcement on their own and migrants have a right to request asylum and to be processed under our immigration laws.”

A press release announcing the executive order said that 5,000 migrants were apprehended for illegal border crossings over the Fourth of July weekend, “creating a border crisis that has overrun communities along the border and across Texas” and contributing to “historic levels of illegal crossings.”

“The cartels have become emboldened and enriched by President Biden’s open border policies, smuggling in record numbers of people, weapons, and deadly drugs like fentanyl,” Abbott said.

Abbott’s office specifically referenced President Biden’s decisions to end Title 42, the Trump-era border management policy that allowed officials to quickly expel foreign nationals at the border under the guise of pandemic protections, and the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced some asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico as their applications were evaluated in the U.S.

Abbott’s executive order is the latest in a slew of actions his administration has taken to curb illegal immigration, including launching Operation Lone Star, which provides money to border cities looking to strengthen security, and issuing a disaster declaration designating a “border crisis.”