Justice Department sues Texas over state law allowing police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally

The Justice Department on Wednesday sued Texas over a new law that lets state and local police arrest migrants who illegally cross the border, the latest legal battle between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration.

In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, prosecutors said the Texas statute violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which holds that federal law takes precedence over state law and details the existing framework for removing and imposing federal criminal penalties on those who enter the country illegally. The U.S. “must speak with one voice in immigration matters,” prosecutors wrote.

They also argued that the new law would “intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations.”

The Justice Department asked the court to declare the law invalid and to block Texas from enforcing it before it takes effect March 5.

The Justice Department last week threatened legal action against Texas over the measure, signed last month by Abbott, a Republican, which makes it a criminal offense to enter the state illegally.

The new law makes it a misdemeanor to enter or attempt to enter Texas from a foreign country at any location other than a lawful port of entry. It also would allow state courts to order noncitizens to be removed from the U.S.

A spokesperson for Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment aboutthe lawsuit Wednesday evening.

After the Justice Department threatened to sue last week, Abbott wrote on X that the Biden administration “not only refuses to enforce current U.S. immigration laws, they