Mexico Draws a Red Line With Greg Abbott

Mexico is wading into Texas Governor Greg Abbott's fight over the state's controversial immigration law, signaling its plans to file a brief opposing Senate Bill 4.

Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a Tuesday press release that its government would "file a friend-of-the-court brief" with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals against the anti-immigration law, saying it would not take any migrants that Texas would send back across the border under SB4.

"Mexico recognizes the importance of a uniform migration policy and the bilateral efforts with the United States to ensure that migration is safe, orderly and respectful of human rights, and is not affected by state or local legislative decisions," the press release said. "In this regard, Mexico will not accept, under any circumstances, repatriations by the State of Texas."

Newsweek reached out to Abbott's office via email for comment.

The implementation of SB4, which allows local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain and remove individuals suspected of entering Texas illegally from other countries, was thrown into limbo this week after a flurry of court rulings that created confusion on the border.

On Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extended the administrative stay on SB4, indefinitely blocking Texas from enforcing the new law. But by the next day, the Supreme Court had issued a new ruling that cleared the way for SB4 to go into effect—a decision that was halted by an appeals panel hours later, when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals once again prevented the enforcement of the law.

The appeals court scheduled arguments on Wednesday to hear whether the district court's injunction prohibiting the implementation of SB4 should remain in place while emergency appeals from the Biden administration and others play out in court.

Mexico indicated its intentions to join the federal appeals process, warning that the law could significantly impact its international relations with the U.S. and arguing that allowing Texas to send migrants back across the border would infringe on its right to determine its own immigration policies.

"Mexico reiterates its legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States and to determine its own policies regarding entry into its territory," the Mexican government said in its press release.

"As stated since the law was debated in the Texas legislature last year, Mexico categorically rejects any measure that allows state or local authorities to exercise immigration control, and to arrest and return nationals or foreigners to Mexican territory."

This is not the first time Mexico has joined U.S. lawsuits against state immigration laws.

In 2010, it filed a brief against Arizona's highly controversial SB1070, which was the nation's broadest and strictest anti-immigration law when passed by state's Republican-led Legislature. The law, known as the "show me your papers" law, allowed local police to check the immigration status of anyone they believed to be in the U.S. illegally.

Mexico also joined the opposition to Alabama HB56, a law that was modeled after the Arizona law, in 2011 as well as to Texas's anti-sanctuary legislation in 2017.