Texas wants the power to arrest and order migrants to leave the US. Can it do that?

By PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans are pushing new boundaries over immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border. A proposal moving toward Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk would let police arrest migrants who enter the country illegally and give judges the ability to order them back across the border. The bill would become one of the nation’s strictest immigration laws if allowed to take effect. Legal experts and immigrant rights groups have called the bill a flagrant violation of federal law, which makes immigration enforcement a responsibility of the U.S. government. Supporters say the law would not apply to residents who have been in the country for more than two years and that it requires officers to prove that someone entered the country illegally.