I wonder what the people will look like.
You know, the ones authorities in Texas are supposed to halt and problem if they look as if they might be in the U. S. improperly.
Lone Star Republicans passed Senate Bill 4 next year, which would produce improperly crossing the border into Texas from Mexico a criminal with a sentence of up to six months in prison. Repeat criminals may face 20 times. The condition may also attempt to arrest people to Mexico. Authorities have kept the laws in purgatory thus far, but it’s still a looming threat.
Read more: Granderson: The boundary crisis is true. That’s why Trump is blocking answers
Legislative immigration and boundary issues is not the part of states— according to the Constitution— yet Gov. Greg Abbott has a realistic explanation for trying to take the federal government and strengthen protection: Border towns in his state lack the resources to process the ancient volume of migrants seeking refuge.
Consider this: San Antonio has processed more than 600, 000 workers since 2021. It is about 150 miles from Eagle Pass, the border city where Abbott sent the National Guard and placed jagged line in the Rio Grande. For San Antonio, the following- largest town in Texas, the issue is an issue. For Eagle Pass — a community of fewer than 30, 000 that sits 2, 000 foot from Mexico— it is the problem.
Read more: Granderson: Texans do n’t hate migrants. Why do they choose like a cruel government?
But SB 4 is not a option. Because at the heart of this bill are questions Texas ca n’t answer.
The Lone Star State is among our most diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. It is second in religious variety, fifth in cultural diversity and eighth in economic diversity, according to one analysis of U. S. Census data. But … what exactly does a Texan search like? Communicate like? How are police officers supposed to guess who is n’t supposed to be in Texas?
Read more: Opinion: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is defying a U. S. Supreme Court order. That’s frightening
Hurricane Katrina forced some 250, 000 residents to Houston, and more than 100, 000 New Orleanians stayed. The fastest- growing city in the nation during the crisis was San Antonio. Texas is home to the fourth- largest Eastern United population in America.
And the idea of SB 4 is to have police officials stop, problem and maybe even jail people they suspect of illegally crossing the southern border.
But once I ask: What will the persons look like?
Because despite the rash of” Do n’t California my Texas” bumper stickers I’ve seen around the state, the facts of the census show the two states are pretty much the same in terms of diversity. Trying to determine who is not from Dallas based on looks is like trying to determine the same in Los Angeles. And we are to believe that with appropriate teaching local law enforcement will be able to maintain SB 4 without being discriminatory.
Six light former police officers in Mississippi were really sentenced for hurting two Black men in January 2023. No 1963 but 2023. The final punishment for officers connected to George Floyd’s 2020 suicide had not happened already when Mississippi’s “goon club” beat, abused and sexually assaulted the two Black men.
James Baldwin questioned in 1968 why a Black man would have faith in” some idealism which you ensure me exists in America which I have never seen”. Why should anyone today think Texas ‘ ridiculous legislation would be enforced fairly?
This law would require state judges to order migrants to return to Mexico if convicted. Of course, not everyone who is in the U. S. illegally is from Mexico. The judge would drop the charges if the migrant goes back voluntarily, meaning the authors of the bill believe desperate people who risked their lives to come here would rather go back than enter our slow- moving, broken judicial system.
What a depressing thought. Either Texas lawmakers believe our criminal justice system is even worse than it is, or they are clueless about the desperate poverty and violence driving people north from Latin America. Either way … the logic behind SB 4 is unmoored from reality.
Here’s the reality: The immigration system is broken. Migration is a crisis. Asking Texas officers to enforce SB 4 fairly on the streets or Texas judges to apply it justly in court is not only racist and unconstitutional. It’s also impossible.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.