Texas has been an enemy of the White House on immigration for the last four years.
In defiance of the Biden administration, the state has deployed miles of barbed wire barriers to prevent crossings, flexed its law enforcement authority at the U.S.-Mexico border, and deported over 100,000 people to sanctuary towns in Democratic states under Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
However, Texas is getting ready to assume a new role in Washington: ally, as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month, announcing a plan to implement the greatest expulsion of aliens in American history.
The state is prepared to share its strategy for pushing through changes to immigration policy, including an executive order requiring hospitals to inquire about a patient’s immigration status and a measure that would enable police officers to arrest migrants and give state judges the authority to order deportations. The state has already offered a 1,402-acre ranch on the Rio Grande as a possible location for detention facilities.
Last week, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham revealed a plan to find 13 million acres of agency property that the Trump administration might utilize for deportation activities, including the recently purchased ranch on the Rio Grande.
Buckingham told NBC News, “We’re actively looking at the properties we have around the state and seeing if it works for the Trump administration.” In addition to some metropolitan locations, we have found a number of properties in the El Paso area that we believe are a strong, natural fit.
Additionally, Buckingham stated that Texas would seek to assist in directing the border security policy of the new government.
We’ve developed many creative strategies to hold these offenders accountable, and we’re pleased to assist anyone seeking guidance or policies that appear to be beneficial, she said.
The Trump administration is paying attention.
At a meeting with Abbott last week, Tom Homan, Trump’s former acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and incoming “border czar,” stated that border security is essential to having a strong national security. Texas is experiencing unheard-of success. We can use this as a model across the nation.
At the same event, Abbott declared that his state would be taking more and moving more quickly than ever before in order to regain control of our border, bring peace back to our communities, and find, apprehend, and deport criminals who have crossed the border into the United States.
After years of opposing and undercutting President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, Texas has emerged as a key supporter of the upcoming Trump administration.
Andrea Flores, an immigration policy advisor to the Biden and Obama administrations and the current vice president of immigration policy and campaigns at the social welfare organization FWD.us, said that Texas is a natural leader because of everything they’ve done in the last four years with little political or public opposition.
The busing of over 100,000 migrants from the border to sanctuary cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver was one of the most obvious forms of opposition. This action overburdened those Democratic communities, put a strain on their resources, and fueled rising anti-immigrant sentiment nationwide, which permeated the presidential campaign.
Flores questioned the absence of federal participation, saying the tactic resulted in a governor intentionally causing disruption against neighboring states with no one intervening to attempt to stop it. There was a great deal of backlash as the city problem overshadowed the border crisis.
According to some experts, Biden’s other initiatives in Texas could be used as a template for Trump’s future initiatives.
The possibilities are endless if the federal government and a state like Texas can coordinate or even cooperate, according to Rick Su, a law professor at the University of North Carolina. This could be the final component of what I believe the Trump administration plans to accomplish, at least.
Abbott announced a border catastrophe in 2021, which paved the way for his Operation Lone Start to fund the busing and provide $11 billion to send thousands of Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety personnel to the southern border to erect new barriers, such as buoys in the Rio Grande and 100 miles of razor wire.
Abbott issued an executive order earlier this year mandating that hospitals inquire about a patient’s legal status and keep account of the expenses associated with treating undocumented immigrants.
According to Flores, the Trump administration has spent the last four years pushing an agenda that is likely to be implemented in several states. We got a sneak peek at what was to come from Texas.
According to Su, the state also approved a bill that questioned federal immigration jurisdiction and is maybe one of the most unusual modern immigration laws. S.B. 4 would provide police personnel the authority to detain migrants and administer criminal sanctions. Additionally, it would give state judges the authority to order deportations to Mexico. While the policy is being contested in court, its execution has been put on hold.
However, Su and other legal experts are keeping an eye on whether Trump’s Department of Justice withdraws from that and other legal challenges to Texas immigration policy that the Biden administration launched.
According to Su, that is only the beginning in certain respects.
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