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While Donald Trump channels Adolf Hitler, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) seems to be channeling... Donald Trump. You know, build a big wall, who cares about federal law, scapegoat Mexicans, things like that. Yesterday, Abbott signed two bills that impose a gaggle of harsh new anti-immigration policies statewide.
Most notably, the signed bills make it a violation of Texas law for an undocumented immigrant to enter the state, and allow state judges to have such individuals ejected. In addition, Texas law enforcement officials are empowered to arrest anyone suspected of entering the state illegally. The bills also set aside $1.5 billion for border patrols and for the construction of new barriers along the border.
The problems here are plain. To start, the new laws are an engraved petition for law enforcement to engage in racial profiling. On top of that, border enforcement is the prerogative of the federal government and not the states. Not only does the Constitution make that clear, but there are also international treaties and laws that the U.S. is bound to observe, while Texas might not be so careful.
Given these issues, Texas is sure to lose in court once the inevitable challenges are filed (something that will probably happen today). The law that allows racial profiling is very similar to an Arizona law that was largely struck down 10 years ago. The law that allows for state-run barriers and patrols? Well, Texas just got smacked down on that point about 6 months ago. Abbott & Co. can't possibly think that they have a real chance of making this stick.
And so, that means that, like much of what happens in Texas politics these days, this is just political theater. The Republicans are working hard to show the country that "we take immigration seriously, and the Democrats do not." Joe Biden is going to have to walk a very fine line. As we make clear above, immigration is shaping up to be a key issue in 2024, and right now Biden and the Democrats are seen as "soft" on that particular subject. The President is going to have to get "harder," at least some, in part to get funding for Ukraine, and in part to counter the GOP attacks against him. At the same time, he cannot suborn the borderline vigilantism of the Texans, nor the Hitleresque rhetoric of Donald Trump. Again, it's going to be a fine line.
That said, we wonder if it's possible Republicans might take this too far. Senate Republicans are already running scared from Trump's speeches this weekend. Perhaps they have remembered that there are tens of millions of Latino voters in this country, and that some of them may be won over—or driven away—by Trump. Or perhaps they know that one of the Democrats' main attack lines in 2024 will be "vote Democratic if you like democracy, Republican if you prefer fascism." That line gets much easier for the blue team to sell if the leader of the Republican Party is channeling history's most notorious fascist. (Z)