Texas congresswoman files legislation to make changes to how immigration laws are enforced

AUSTIN, Texas - A Texas congresswoman is among those on Capitol Hill who want major changes in the way federal agents enforce immigration law. 

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) has filed legislation to allow local authorities to be able to decide which immigration laws they want to enforce and which ones to ignore.

What they're saying:

Garcia spoke to Greg Groogan with FOX 26 Houston and told him the Trump Administration is allowing ICE agents to terrorize communities and violate constitutional rights.  

"They're threatening our cities, they're just tearing our country apart, trampling over the Constitution. They're just, it's just almost abhorrent and unconscionable, some of the actions that they're taking in Minneapolis," said Rep. Garcia.

Rep. Garcia’s legislation would repeal a key section of the Immigration Act. Garcia described it as the part that gives the federal government authority to mandate to cities what to do on immigration. 

Passing it could, in theory, also allow cities to ignore Senate Bill 4 which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in 2017. SB 4 requires county sheriffs to honor ICE detainers and prohibits local cities from passing ordinances that forbid police officers from asking about a person's immigration status during a lawful detention or arrest.

"Cities want to manage their public safety programs and their priorities without having to worry about someone else with a big stick threatening them and threatening them in terms of losing their funding. And then it gets more complicated for us because ICE is already at the jail. It has been. That was a vote that I took against that program. It's a slightly different program now, but the reality is that ICE is in the jail and at some point in the process they will ask some of those questions why do we have to really do it at the traffic stop and frankly put that police officer in some danger and risk of cars zooming by while they're trying to do the job ahead of them," said Garcia.

Garcia claims her plan would not violate the federal supremacy clause — saying instead it would clear it up. 

Garcia also continued to push the claim that violating federal immigration law is a civil and not criminal offense.

"I have talked about this many times, immigration law is not criminal law. It's civil, it's administrative," said Garcia.

Big picture view:

Illegal immigration is a criminal and a civil violation according to federal law, specifically CRM 1500-1999, 1911. 8 U.S.C. 1325 — Unlawful Entry, Failure To Depart, Fleeing Immigration

Section 1325 sets forth criminal offenses relating to (1) improper entry into the United States by an alien, (2) entry into marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws, and (3) establishing a commercial enterprise for the purpose of evading immigration laws. 

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) amended 8 U.S.C. § 1325 to provide that an alien apprehended while entering or attempting to enter the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty.

Several legal information sites provide additional clarification regarding violations. The first offense of illegal entry is a misdemeanor that can come with imprisonment for up to six months. A re-entry, a second offense, becomes a felony with up to two years in jail. Marriage fraud, altering records such as commercial enterprise fraud  and smuggling bring tougher felony charges.  

Civil rights and immigration attorneys note that many violations, including overstaying a visa, are processed as civil offenses. 

It’s suggested that charging under civil law can be faster by avoiding the requirement to appoint defense attorneys in criminal cases.

The US Sentencing Commission provided information regarding 17,336 illegal reentry cases in 2024.

Dig deeper:

Democrats like Garcia are hoping the immigration enforcement fight will carry into the November general election. 

She compared the deaths of two people who got into confrontations with federal agents recently in Minneapolis to the Kent State shootings in 1970. 

In the interview, Rep. Garcia did not talk about the murder of Jocelyn Nungaray. The 12-year-old Houston resident was allegedly killed in 2024 by two undocumented immigrants who were caught and later released into Texas by officials with the Biden Administration.