The second-largest source of income for Mexican drug cartels is human trafficking into the U.S. Laws discouraging illegal immigration challenge that income. The cartels have so much sway over the Mexican government that even the country’s president is speaking out against Texas laws countering illegal immigration.
Earlier this week, a confrontation broke out between Texas Army National Guard troops and a group of migrants who charged a border wall in El Paso. Texas Governor Abbott has called the immigration crisis an invasion.
Attempting to stem the flow of illegals, he came under fire, allegedly for passing a law making illegal entry from Mexico into the U.S. a crime. The irony of this statement is that it is already “illegal” to enter the U.S. illegally.
To be more accurate, Abbott has not made illegal entry into the United States a crime; he has instructed his police officers to enforce existing laws, arrest lawbreakers, and restore legality by deporting the illegals.
Under Title 8 federal authority, it is illegal to enter the US at non-ports of entry, and the punishment is deportation and a five-year ban on future immigration.
Social media accounts in Mexico provide instructions on how to enter the US illegally, including encouraging people to enter at illegal points of entry. Human traffickers, transitional criminal organizations, however, are selling illegal access to the US.
The criminals, generally linked to drug cartels, accept money from the migrants, promising safe passage, but they are being led to illegal entry ports. The money that cartels are earning from illegal human trafficking to the US is used to buy more guns, politicians, and judges, further destabilizing Mexico.
Title 8 states, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the United States.”
This is one of the many points of contention between Governor Abbott and the federal government. The governor, along with many American Conservatives, is questioning why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not doing more to prevent illegal immigration and why the Federal government would challenge the Texas governor’s assertion that he has the authority to protect the border of his state to keep his citizens safe.
Additionally, Title 8 mandates the erection of physical barriers to prevent illegal entrance to the US. However, when Governor Abbott implemented barriers, he faced vilification from the media, and the federal government ordered him to remove them.
Governor Abbott’s efforts to enforce immigration law have been challenged at both the state and federal levels. Twenty-five GOP state governors have signed the “Stand with Texas” declaration, expressing support for Governor Abbott and defending the border.
Despite being effectively barred from preventing illegal immigrants from entering his state, Abbott implemented Operation Lone Star Bus, transporting immigrants to sanctuary cities that claim to welcome them.
However, cities like Chicago and others, receiving immigrants from Texas, began taking measures to limit the number of illegals they would accept.
Some of the bus companies transporting immigrants actually sued Chicago. The federal court filing of Wynne Transportation reads, “Rather than welcoming migrants and giving them sanctuary, Chicago is turning its back on those wishing to travel here.”
For Abbott and most conservatives, the fact that even sanctuary cities have finally had enough of illegal immigration should serve as proof that the border needs to be secured. Yet, the border chaos persists at crisis levels.
Told that he cannot prevent individuals from entering illegally and that he cannot transport them across the United States, Governor Abbott decided to address the problem from another angle by arresting those who enter the state illegally, which is consistent with US federal immigration law. And once again, he is facing challenges from immigration rights organizations, mainstream media, and Democrats at the federal level.
Critics argue that the law “creates a climate of fear in Texas where anyone potentially suspected of being an undocumented migrant can be subject to questioning by local police.”
They are concerned that enforcement of the law makes criminals nervous. However, if individuals are worried about being questioned by police when suspected of breaking this law, it is no different from any other law.
If suspected of theft or driving without a license, individuals can be questioned by police. If innocent, they can provide proof, and the matter is resolved.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized the Texas law as “draconian,” “dehumanizing,” and “anti-Christian.” His opposition to the law of the state of Texas, citing its alleged infringement on federal authority, is preposterous given Mexico’s steady descent into becoming a narco-state, where drug cartels control its legislature, judiciary, police, and military.
Obrador’s rebuttal to the Texas law was a nonsensical false equivalent, “It’s as if the governor of Tamaulipas applied a law against Texans who were visiting Mexico or passing through Tamaulipas.”
President Obrador’s point is preposterous. Texas is not making laws about Mexicans legally passing through Texas. The law is about Mexicans, or people from other nations, illegally entering Texas.
Ironically, under Mexican law, it is also illegal for Americans to enter Mexico illegally. It is unclear why Mexico’s president believes the US should not similarly protect its border.