Probe urged into Abbott's order purportedly giving state officers increased authority over migrants
Civil rights organizations are urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop any cooperation with a July order from Texas governor Greg Abbott that purports to give state law enforcement the power to detain and return recently crossed migrants to the border.
Immigration enforcement is strictly the job of the federal government, but Abbott’s anti-immigrant order is testing this authority by reportedly having Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers detain and move migrants to federal property to be turned over to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.
“The unilateral arrest and transport of migrants on immigration grounds by state officers
and the detention of migrants on federal property by state officers raise serious legal concerns,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Texas said in an Aug. 8 complaint. They urge the department “not to collaborate with these actions,” as well as an investigation from the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
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