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A Texas National Guard soldier stands over a barricade of shipping containers and razor wire while guarding the U.S.-Mexico border March 17 in Eagle Pass, Texas.
CNN
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Mexico warns federal US court if its judges allow controversial Texas Immigration When the law goes into effect, the two countries will experience “significant tension” that could have long-term effects on U.S.-Mexico relations.
A Friend of the Court Brief In a filing Thursday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for Mexico said relations with the U.S. could worsen.
“Enactment of SB 4 inappropriately burdens the consistent and predictable sovereign-sovereignty relationship between Mexico and the United States by criminalizing the unauthorized entry of non-citizens into Texas from outside the county and by creating disparate removal requirements between individual states and the state-national government,” they wrote in the brief.
“Enforcement of SB 4 would interfere with Mexico's right to determine its own policies regarding border entry, undermine U.S.-Mexico cooperation in the legal migration framework and border management, and impede U.S.-Mexico trade,” the lawyers told the court.
Signed into law By Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in December, the law makes illegal entry into Texas a state crime and allows state judges to order immigrants deported. US immigration enforcement is, in general, a function of the federal government.
The The 5th Circuit is currently considering Whether the Texas Senate should allow Bill 4 to take effect weighs the larger question of whether the law violates the U.S. Constitution. A three-judge panel of the appeals court stayed the law again late Tuesday, leading the Supreme Court to allow it to take effect for a brief period later that day.
Abstracts as filed Mexico, technically known as an amicus brief, is submitted by non-parties to provide court expertise and information about the pending case. The decision to allow amicus briefs falls within the court's discretion. Some amici may file their briefs in favor of a particular party or in favor of no party.
Mexico has said it supports opponents of the law, which includes the Biden administration. Its lawyers argued in a brief Thursday that the law — if allowed to take effect — “would be applied in a discriminatory manner.”
Mexico's 11 embassies in Texas have been ordered to provide protection and guidance, and have made legal support available to Mexican nationals across the state who “start trouble” under the new law, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcina said earlier Thursday.
“This law is profoundly unconstitutional,” Barcena said, arguing that immigration issues in the United States, like in Mexico, fall under federal jurisdiction.
“So, we're not going to allow any action by the state of Texas, the authorities, or the police, or anyone acting at the state level, the county level, on immigration matters, it's a federal matter and for us as well. So we are,” the minister said.
