By Arturo Castellanos Canales *
Texas is taking immigration matters into its own hands — with cost and controversy attached. And its efforts are having a collateral effect on U.S. foreign policy.
First came Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, meant to stop migrants from crossing the Texas-Mexico border. Now, just this month, the Texas Legislature passed SB 4, a deeply problematic law that criminalizes unauthorized entry of immigrants and allows Texas judges to effectively deport people to Mexico without coordinating with U.S. or Mexican authorities.
Together, the two efforts empower state and local law enforcement officials to enforce immigration laws — even though state and local law enforcement typically have limited familiarity with immigration enforcement, which has long been a federal responsibility.
SB 4 drew a rebuke from the Mexican government, and Operation Lone Star quickly elicited reactions from both the U.S. and Mexican governments: “The Government of Mexico reiterates its rejection of any measure that contemplates the involuntary return of migrants without respect for due process,” reads a Nov. 15 statement by Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations.
Another flashpoint came in July when Governor Abbott ordered the installation of buoys separated by discs with serrated edges in the Rio Grande and razor concertina wire on the riverbanks. This step elicited reactions from both the U.S. and Mexican governments.
Mexico’s responses are no small matter; it is the United States’ largest trading partner and a key hemispheric ally. Nor is Mexico’s concern new — it has long raised objections to Operation Lone Star for the program’s impact on migrants seeking protection in the United States as well as its adverse effects on trade and commerce.
Texas has asserted that Operation Lone Star was intended to protect the United States and is arguing that the buoys are entirely on the U.S. side of the border — not on the Mexican side, which would violate two international treaties regarding physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. In any case, Mexico’s government denounced the tactic, calling Texas’ action a trespass on its sovereignty.
The buoys also seem to violate the Rivers and Harbors Act here in the U.S., which prohibits the obstruction of U.S. waterways. Not to mention that immigration enforcement and foreign policy are exclusive authorities of the federal government, not states, as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.
Beyond legal breaches, the buoys and concertina wire along the river have exerted a human toll. In recent months, an asylum seeker was found dead in the southern section of the buoys, a pregnant woman was found trapped in the riverbank razor wire and had a miscarriage, and a 5-year-old was injured after being ensnared by a coil of concertina wire. Those incidents sparked indignation and pushed Mexico’s president to call Abbott’s actions “inhumane.” In yet another incident, a Texas National Guard officer shot a Mexican national across the Rio Grande, an action that Mexico’s government deemed “inadmissible” and a “violation of international law.”
In addition, in response to Texas’ increasingly intrusive border inspections of vehicles, Mexico has taken steps to disentangle its trade relationship with the state. In May 2022, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy announced that a new railway project connecting the port of Mazatlán, Mexico, to Winnipeg, Canada, would be routed through New Mexico instead of Texas as initially planned. Considering that Mexico is the largest trading partner of Texas (US $400 billion of goods cross annually through the Mexico-Texas border), the rerouting of the rail network is expected to have long-lasting effects on Texas’ economy.
Whether Texas’ actions have succeeded in stemming migration at the border or not — and indications are they have not — the acts of this single state have threatened to harm U.S. international prestige and credibility and have made U.S.-Mexico relations more tense.
So far, Mexico’s government has expressed its concerns about Texas’ policies only through U.S. diplomatic channels, including urging the U.S. government to remove the buoys and investigate the shooting incident. But Texas’ actions, including SB 4, could further harm relations between the two countries and lead Mexico to pursue remedies before an international tribunal. It could also deter businesses, organizations, and tourists from going to Texas and spending money there.
These diplomatic incidents are not minor. The current relatively friendly terms between the U.S. and Mexican administrations do not mean Mexico will continue to tolerate Texas’ unilateral actions. And that would undermine U.S. foreign policy at a time when U.S. credibility remains essential.
The U.S. government already filed a civil complaint against Texas for Operation Lone Star and ordered the state to remove the buoys along the Rio Grande — steps the Mexican government celebrated. As that litigation makes its way through the U.S. federal court system, U.S.-Mexico relations remain in the balance. Similarly, legal challenges to SB 4 are likely to follow, with significant implications for the U.S.-Mexico relationship.
While most people are focused on the national and domestic political implications of Texas’ actions along its border with Mexico, we must pay attention to the potential damage to U.S.’s international standing and its adverse effects on the Texan economy. These effects are precisely why immigration policy is the federal government’s responsibility — and why Republicans and Democrats on the federal level must work together on lasting solutions that balance security, compassion, and lawfulness.
* Arturo Castellanos Canales is the Policy & Advocacy Manager at the National Immigration Forum. Arturo holds a Doctorate in Juridical Science (J.S.D.) and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Cornell Law School as well as a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City. This Op-Ed is part of a series sponsored by The Center for Binational Institutions’ whose mission is to promote a better understanding of the bilateral institutions between Mexico and the United States. The Center is a program of the US-Mexico Foundation is a binational non-profit organization dedicated to fostering bilateral cooperation and improving the understanding between the United States and Mexico by activating key people in the relationship that once were dormant.Twitter: @USMexicoFound
