A new Texas law set to go into effect in March makes unlawfully crossing into the state from a foreign country a crime, prompting many unlawful migrants to rush to the border ahead of the law’s enforcement.
Texas Senate Bill 4, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed along with two other bills on Monday, created the new law, which will also enable state law enforcement officers to apprehend anyone suspected of committing the crime.
Just before signing the bill at a border wall construction site in Brownsville, Abbott said that he expects the bill to result in a massive decrease in the number of unlawful migrants coming into the state.
“We expect a dramatic drop well over 50%, maybe 75%, of the people coming across the border illegally will stop entering through the State of Texas,” he said, according to Fox 4 DFW.
Although Abbott predicts a decrease in the number of unlawful migrants entering the state once SB 4 goes into effect, there could also be a surge in the number over the next few months.
Fernando Valencia, a 36-year-old Venezuelan truck driver, said that the new law has made clear that unlawful migrants must “get to America fast,” adding, “… we have a better chance of getting into America now than if we wait.”
“We came to the border as soon as we heard about the new law,” he told the New York Post. “We had somewhere to stay in Mexico, but we needed to leave.”
Many of the unlawful migrants encountered by the New York Post said they had been traveling for a long time, citing economic opportunity as the main reason for coming to the U.S.
John Rodriguez said he has been traveling to the U.S. for months, explaining that while it’s not dangerous in his home country of Venezuela, “[t]here’s no opportunity” there.
“I am waiting for more family to arrive here. By the grace of God, I will cross [the Rio Grande] tomorrow,” he said to the New York Post through a translator. “I need to rest first. I have been traveling for three months without a break.”
The signing of SB 4 comes amidst a growing crisis at the southern border, with high numbers of unlawful migrants entering the country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a record high of 14,509 encounters at the border on Monday, the highest number for a single day, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Abbott said SB 4 and the two other laws were signed into law in an attempt to reduce these numbers, stating in a news release that the new laws will help “stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas, add additional funding to build more border wall, and crackdown [sic] on human smuggling.”