WASHINGTON — Mexico is becoming a thorn in the side of Texas Republicans who want the state to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, which is the responsibility of the federal government.

Mexican officials want no part in the Texas initiatives and some experts said the dispute highlights how much the U.S. needs Mexico’s help to control the flow of migrants crossing the southern border.

What You Need To Know

  • Texas is facing criticism from both the U.S. and Mexico governments over its controversial immigration law, SB 4

  • SB 4 gives local police the power to arrest migrants suspected of entering Texas illegally and allows local judges to order those migrants out of the country, but the Mexican government has vowed not to accept anyone that Texas sends them under the new law

  • Some experts in U.S.-Mexico relations said Mexico’s pushback underscores just how important the country’s cooperation is on immigration and border issues

  • Experts add Mexico's shared interest with the U.S. on economic and immigration issues is why it has been open to negotiations on addressing southern border problems

Texas Republicans are not just facing opposition from the Biden administration over the state’s efforts to enforce its own immigration measures. The Justice Department said Texas’s controversial new immigration law, known as SB 4, is unconstitutional, while GOP lawmakers from the state believe it has the authority to defend itself. 

“It’s unthinkable to me that the state of Texas as a sovereign state has no authority, no rights to protect its own citizens,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. 

Texas is also facing criticism on the other side of the border. SB 4 gives local police the power to arrest migrants suspected of entering Texas illegally and allows local judges to order those migrants out of the country. SB 4 is on hold pending a ruling from a federal appeals court, but the Mexican government has vowed not to accept anyone that Texas sends them under the new law.

“They don’t consider it a legitimate activity at this point. There is no precedent for local states to create their own border patrols and this type of enforcement activities,” said Raul Hinojosa, professor at UCLA. “They are basically saying that there’s no international law for them to accept that type of activity, and they will not cooperate.” 

In a legal brief supporting the Biden administration’s legal challenge to the Texas law, Mexican authorities wrote, “Enforcement of SB 4 would also interfere with Mexico’s right to determine its own policies regarding entry into its territory, undermine U.S.-Mexico collaboration on a legal migration framework and border management, and hinder U.S.-Mexico trade.”

Some experts in U.S.-Mexico relations said Mexico’s pushback underscores just how important the country’s cooperation is on immigration and border issues. 

“Mexico understands that the relationship between Mexico and the United States is of fundamental importance as a national interest to Mexico, as it is for the United States,” Hinojosa said. “We have a common challenge that is in the interest of both countries to solve correctly, humanely and expeditiously for the benefit of both economies and societies.”

Some scholars said that shared interest is why Mexico has been open to negotiations with Washington to address some problems at the southern border.

They point to the number of unlawful border crossings dropping after the Biden administration’s talks with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other officials late last year. Mexico, in part, has ramped up deportations.

“The Lopez Obrador administration in Mexico accepted to close its borders, deport more people directly from Mexico to their home country, and obviously stop the flow of immigrants through Mexico or at least slow it down,” said Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute.

“Taxpayers in Texas are putting in billions and billions of dollars to try to contain immigrants from coming into the state. And that has not paid off,” Payan continued. “What really has paid off is a direct negotiation between Washington, D.C. and Mexico City on how to contain the migrants.”

One issue now is whether the continued legal efforts by Texas to gain authority over immigration enforcement will cause Mexico to stop cooperating on stemming the flow of migrants into the U.S.