NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers across the country were already jockeying to push their states deeper into immigration enforcement when the Supreme Court, if only briefly, let Texas enforce a new law giving police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
Republican lawmakers across the country were already jockeying to push their states deeper into immigration enforcement when the Supreme Court, if only briefly, let Texas enforce a new law giving police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
Within hours Tuesday, another court blocked the Texas law again. The same day, Iowa passed a similar bill.
In New Hampshire, lawmakers are nearing passage of legislation to let police bring trespassing charges against people suspected of illegally entering the U.S. from Canada.
And in Georgia, Republicans have advanced a proposal requiring eligible cities and counties to seek agreements to perform some immigration-related enforcement in jails to help the federal government after police accused a Venezuelan man of beating nursing student Laken Riley to death on the University of Georgia campus. Immigration authorities say the man unlawfully crossed into the U.S. in 2022. It is unclear whether he had applied for asylum.
On Wednesday, the state Senate honored Riley’s family. During the ceremony, her father, Jason Riley, blamed immigrant-protecting sanctuary policies in Athens, where University of Georgia is located, for his daughter’s death and urged Gov. Brian Kemp to declare an “invasion,” the same argument Texas has used to defend a series of escalating measures along the border. Last month, a federal judge in Texas rejected those claims while blocking the state’s new arrest law.
“A man with an evil heart stole her life. He was in this country and in this state illegally,” Jason Riley said. “I’m begging every senator in this chamber that you protect citizens from this illegal invasion.”
Meanwhile, it’s yet to be seen whether a number of other Republican-led states, many of which are pushing different bills and sending their National Guard members to the border, will embrace the Texas-style bill, particularly if another court ruling favors the state.
The Biden administration is suing to block the Texas measure, arguing it’s a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos in immigration law and wreak havoc on international relations.
Tennessee lawmakers are approaching the finish line on a proposal to require law enforcement agencies there to communicate with federal immigration authorities if they discover people are in the country illegally.
