White House slams new Texas immigration law as feds mull possible challenge
By Michael Williams and Nikki Carvajal, CNN
Washington (CNN) — A new law that makes it a state crime in Texas to enter the state illegally is “incredibly extreme,” the White House said Tuesday, a day after Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law.
Asked about the measure, Senate Bill 4, during a news conference Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the law “will not, and does not, make the communities in Texas safer.”
“It just doesn’t,” Jean-Pierre added.
Under the law, which takes effect in March, local law enforcement in Texas has the power to arrest migrants and judges have the ability to issue orders to remove them from the United States.
The law has sent ripples of fear throughout the Latino community in Texas, who make up about 40% of the state’s population, and raised concerns about racial profiling from civil rights organizations and immigration advocacy groups.
It comes amid a surge of migrants on the southern border that has placed pressure on local, state and federal authorities to crack down on illegal crossings.
Democrats have said they believe the law is unconstitutional and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas on Tuesday challenging the law.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and the Texas Civil Rights Project argued the controversial border law is unconstitutional because it preempts federal law. “Immigration is a quintessentially federal authority,” the lawsuit states.
The enforcement of immigration law typically falls under the purview of the federal government, not individual state governments.
Asked if President Joe Biden supported the federal government taking legal action, Jean-Pierre said the Department of Justice would decide if a lawsuit would be filed and that she was “not going to get ahead of that.”
“The federal court, not individual states, are in charge of determining how and when to remove non-citizens for violating immigration laws,” she added later. “That is where that sits and that’s where that belongs.”
The county executives leading El Paso, Harris (home to Houston) and Travis (home to Austin) counties – which represent nearly a quarter of the state’s population – penned a letter to Biden late last month, urging him to stop SB 4 from going into effect, citing concerns about the measure’s constitutionality and whether it will truly make communities more safe.
“We urge you to intervene to stop this legislation from going into effect and to prevent Texas Governor Greg Abbott from violating the U.S. Constitution,” they wrote in the letter, which was posted on X.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Rosa FLores and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
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