AILA President Jeremy McKinney Responds to Texas Governor’s Reprehensible Border Announcement

Washington, DC - In response to the announcement from Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office calling on the Texas National Guard and law enforcement officials to illegally involve themselves in federal immigration policy, Jeremy McKinney, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, made the following statement:

“Governor Greg Abbott’s political ploy of authorizing the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to apprehend and attempt to expel migrants is morally reprehensible and unquestionably illegal. The US Constitution makes clear that immigration enforcement is a federal authority, and state governors cannot set their own policies. The Biden Administration must swiftly respond with litigation and remind Governor Abbott that the Constitution plainly sets forth how our democratic republic is supposed to work. In the meantime, beyond dehumanizing and terrorizing asylum seekers, these antics stir distrust, harm border communities, and create potential liability for law enforcement officials and our volunteer service members in the National Guard who feel pressured to comply with an illegal order.”