On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation that makes it a criminal offense to enter the state illegally, allowing courts more power than ever over those who come across the border illegally.
The bill comes as Congress and the White House hit a stalemate on what to do at the border. President Biden is asking Congress to pass legislation that addresses funding for Ukraine and Israel and an updated immigration policy.
But instead of passing each measure separately, Republicans are demanding that aid be paired with immigration legislation to ensure they get their way.
However, the bill in Texas now puts the president on the hot seat, and Abbott called attention to it while signing the bill at an event in Brownsville, Texas.
“Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” Abbott said.
He later added that the legislation will help “stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas.”
It is important to note that the action of crossing into the United States between designated ports of entry is already a federal offense.
A spokesperson for the White House, Angelo Fernandez Hernandez, told NBC News that the new legislation was “an extreme law that will make communities in Texas less safe.”
Hernandez said that it’s the role of the federal government to determine “how and when to remove noncitizens for violating immigration laws.”
But now, the new law makes it a misdemeanor to enter or attempt to enter Texas from a foreign country at any location other than a lawful port of entry.
The bill will go into effect starting in March if the Justice Department doesn’t step in and block the measure, at the request of 21 Texas Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.