White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called a new law in Texas “extreme” and said it will endanger migrants trying to cross the southern border.
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that would allow local and state law enforcement agencies to arrest and deport illegal border crossers without federal government intervention.
It has already resulted in lawsuits from Democrats and immigrant rights groups.
Jean-Pierre argued during Tuesday's briefing that the law “does not and will not make Texas communities safer.”
“That's just not true,” she said. “It's very much in line with what … Republicans like to do or tend to do, which is demonizing immigrants and also dehumanizing immigrants.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called a new law in Texas that would allow local law enforcement to deport migrants “extreme” as she accused Republicans of “dehumanizing immigrants” during Tuesday's news conference.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill Monday from Brownsville, Texas. It is already being challenged in court by Democrats and immigrant rights groups
Jean-Pierre said Abbott's move follows a pattern of endangering the lives of migrants — and those of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
“There are plenty of examples that I've mentioned here before, such as leaving migrants on the side of the road in the middle of winter, installing barbed wire at the border, making it more dangerous for the Border Patrol to do their job, and buoys in the river, which also made it more difficult for the border police to do their work,” Jean-Pierre said.
She called it “incredibly unfortunate.”
“But this is what we're seeing with certain Republicans trying to dehumanize a group of people who are coming here, or some of them are trying to migrate here, and they're putting them in danger,” the press secretary reiterated.
The law is already in court, with El Paso County, one of the most Democratic jurisdictions in Texas, and two immigrant groups suing to block the measures.
The lawsuit argues that the federal government and immigration authorities have the ultimate and exclusive authority to make arrests, detentions and deportations – and that Abbott cannot circumvent these procedures.
Democrats, as well as civil rights and pro-immigration groups, argue that the law violates the Constitution and invites racial profiling of Hispanic citizens.
An aerial view of thousands of migrants, most wearing thermal blankets, awaiting processing at a U.S. Border Patrol transit center in Eagle Pass, Texas
Migrants are queuing at the border to be processed as new figures show around 2,000 migrants are crossing every day – with a new single-day record of 12,600 apprehensions on Monday
Jean-Pierre echoed these fears during Tuesday's briefing.
“Communities should not be individually targeted and endangered, and this is what we are seeing,” said Shs.
Abbott signed the bill Monday, calling the new law “so extreme” that he believed it would deter migrants from crossing into Texas from Mexico.
Latest figures show 2,000 migrants are crossing the border every day, with Texas bearing the brunt of the crisis – and new images show border crossers waiting in line to be processed just days before Christmas.
Ironically, when Abbott signed his new law on Monday, he set a new all-time high with at least 12,600 encounters in a 24-hour period.
The stunning spike comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it would suspend rail operations at both the El Paso and Eagle Pass international border crossings in Texas.
The new law, known as SB4, gives law enforcement authorities in Texas the power to stop, arrest and jail migrants on newly established charges of illegal entry.
State judges in Texas will also be able to issue de facto deportations against suspected violators of the law.
It's not immediately clear how the law will be enforced or how it will work with federal authorities — such as Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement — who also operate in Texas and other border states.
Union Pacific Railroad is urging El Paso and Eagle Pass to reopen rail operations at key border crossings with Mexico after suspending them due to major spikes in illegal activity this month.
“These locations represent 45% of Union Pacific cross-border activity and include goods critical to the U.S. economy. There is not enough capacity at our other four gateways to reroute them,” the railroad wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
“With Christmas and New Year's Day just days away, Union Pacific is in close contact with multiple government agencies and our customers, urging that border crossings closed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection be reopened,” the company added to it.
“While the company understands that this is a complex humanitarian crisis, most migrants do not cross the border by train.”