Mexico said Tuesday that it will not accept migrants deported by Texas. File Photo by Justin Hamel/UPI |
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March 19 (UPI) -- Mexico will not accept migrants deported by Texas, its foreign ministry said after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a controversial law that allows Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing into the state illegally.
The foreign ministry issued the statement Tuesday, condemning Texas Senate Bill 4, which makes it a criminal offense to illegally cross in to Texas via the Texas-Mexico border. The law also requires Texas judges to order those convicted to be returned to Mexico.
The law has been challenged and the case is pending in an appeals court. In February, a Texas judge blocked S.B. 4 from being enforced amid the litigation, ruling it infringes upon the federal government's responsibility to oversee immigration.
However, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court lifted the block on Tuesday, allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest migrants.
Mexico, along with human and civil rights advocates, has voiced staunch criticism of the law on the grounds that it seeks to stop the influx of migrants by criminalizing them and encourages the separation of families, discrimination and racial profiling.
It said it has filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the appeals court to support the quashing of the law by providing information on its impact to the Mexican-American community and on the Mexico-U.S. relationship.
"Mexico categorically rejects any measure that allows state or local authorities to exercise immigration control and to arrest and return nationals or foreigners to Mexican territory," its foreign ministry said.
"Mexico reiterates its legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States and to determine its own politics regarding entry into its territory."
The Biden administration has argued that the law is unconstitutional, a point White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made Tuesday in a statement following the Supreme Court's decision.
"We fundamentally disagree with the Supreme Court's order allowing Texas' harmful and unconstitutional law to go into effect," she said.
"S.B. 4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement, and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border. S.B. 4 is just another example of Republican officials politicizing the border while blocking real solutions."
