The conflict between state and federal governments over immigration: Texas challenges Biden

In 2010, the state of Arizona passed an anti-immigrant law that authorized local and state police to arrest individuals suspected of being in the US illegally.
Two years later the Supreme Court by a vote of 5 to 4 declared the Arizona law illegal because immigration matters are under the exclusive authority of the federal government.
Now Republicans in Texas have done the same thing with a similar law that has run afoul of federal authorities.
Joe Biden's administration has made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to block Texas' SB 4 law.
Again, state law was blocked, although the Supreme Court left the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court, which will hear the case shortly.
In case of defeat, Texas governor Greg Abbott will appeal to the Supreme Court hoping to obtain a better result than Arizona in 2012.
In all likelihood Texas will be defeated although it is not known for sure since the Supreme Court is now made up of 6 judges appointed by Republican presidents and 3 by Democrats.
Whatever happens, Abbott gains because he keeps the immigration issue alive in the minds of voters, which is useful for Republicans from a political point of view.
Legally, however, when states try to take over foreign affairs, several problems emerge at the international but also national level.
Texas' immigration law, SB 4, usurps federal power to handle migrants.
Gives state law enforcement agencies the power to stop, arrest, and deport individuals without the right to be in Texas.
The Mexican government has already stated that it will not accept migrants deported from Texas, rightly asserting that they cannot deal with the laws of a variety of states.
They rightly require interaction with the US federal government.
SB 4 could have further negative effects because Texas law enforcement could confront citizens of the state in cases where they ask for documents from individuals suspected of being in the country without authorization.
In cases of misunderstanding, a citizen unjustly arrested would have recourse to justice.
Simply put, the law would increase discrimination against Latinos and other foreign residents in Texas.
It would also increase the insecurity of these individuals who would feel fearful of being stopped by the police simply because of their physical appearance.
Abbott does not see these problems because after all for him it is not just a legal issue but rather a political one.
The governor of the Lone Star State intends to maintain the idea of chaos at the border to please Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in November.
In fact, Abbott has already done a lot to push the migrant issue by having several groups bused to metropolitan cities like New York, Chicago and California.
Managing these migrants requires resources but does not fully capture their influence.
America needs workers to continue to maintain a vibrant economy.
The contributions and importance of migrants to the economy were also confirmed by Jerome Powell, president of the Federal Reserve Bank, in an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes program.
Powell reiterated that the US economic recovery is due to migrants who were barred from entering the country during the pandemic for fear of contagion.
America needs workers in many sectors as the numbers of work permits issued in the agricultural sector confirm.
Only 70 thousand permits were issued in 2013 but now the numbers have exceeded 300 thousand.
They are not enough but these are not considerations in the mind of Abbott who, like the right in general, only wants to treat the symptoms with the harsh hand of preventing entry and deporting them even with laws that are anything but constitutional.
SB 4 will not go into effect also because law enforcement in Texas is against it.
The sheriffs of Maverick County, Bexar County and the police chief of the city of Dallas have already declared their opposition.
They already have enough to do and have no intention of acting as border guards.
SB 4 or other state laws will not solve the migrant situation because states should not intrude into areas outside their jurisdiction.
A law that would have improved even if not resolved the issue completely was the one approved a few months ago by the Senate.
It was a bipartisan bill that Biden promised to sign.
Unfortunately, the House did not put it to a vote because Trump had given clear signs of opposition.
Keeping the migrant fuss alive is an ace in the hole for his re-election.
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