Would Texas’ New Immigration Law Address the Border Crisis?

Would Texas’ SB 4 immigration law help alleviate the border crisis or encourage racial profiling?

For Context: The law would grant state judges the power to order deportations. The Biden administration argues the law interferes with federal immigration law, while Texas Republicans argue the law is needed to make up for a purported deficiency in federal immigration enforcement. The law was initially blocked by a federal judge. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court temporarily allowed its enforcement, but an appeals court blocked it hours later.

Anti-Immigrant Cruelty? A writer in The Nation (Left bias) stated that Texas is giving its “morally stunted voters more of what they want: racism.” The writer argued the law would empower cops to arrest individuals suspected of being undocumented, and would lead to racial profiling, stating, “How can they tell if a person is an ‘illegal immigrant’ versus just a brown person walking down the street in Dallas? That’s the fun part (for racists): They can’t.”

Godsend for Biden? Noah Rothman (Right bias) argued the law would be “a godsend for Joe Biden if he can summon the courage to ignore his progressive critics.” Pushing back on fears the bill will lead to racial profiling, Rothman stated, “Texas police officers are still not allowed to engage in illegal discrimination, nor are they authorized to stop suspected illegal immigrants purely on the basis of their immigration status.” Rothman concluded, “Texas is willing to do its part to rescue Biden from the bad judgment of his progressive allies.”