Numerous migrants along the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas

The Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a bill on Monday that would allow state police to arrest and deport migrants who cross illegally into the United States from Mexico.

The Texas governor claimed that some eight million people have crossed the border illegally since Biden took office in 2021. Abbott defended the new law as constitutional, saying Texas had been left to fend for itself.

He said the bill passed by the Republican-majority Texas state legislature last month was needed to stop the illegal entry into Texas. The bill also provides a mechanism to order an illegal immigrant to return to the foreign nation from which they entered, he said.