HOUSTON, US 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law one of the toughest immigration policies in the US which allows the state to arrest illegal immigrants crossing the southern border. 

Senate Bill 4 (SB4) will make it a criminal offense to illegally enter Texas from a foreign nation beginning in March 2024. The new measure will allow state law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants, with repeat offenders facing a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

"The goal of Senate Bill 4 is to stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas," said Abbott at a news conference. "The bill provides a mechanism to order an illegal immigrant to return to the foreign nation from which they entered."

Abbott cited the wave of illegal immigration plaguing the US-Mexico border over the past several years, with Texas suffering the majority of the influx.

"Two years ago, there was an all-time record number of illegal immigrants apprehended -- more than 2.3 million. That's larger than the size of Houston, Texas," said Abbott. "Then, this last year, there were more than 2.4 million people apprehended crossing the border illegally."

"Altogether, since Joe Biden has been president, when you count those apprehended and the known got-aways, it adds up to about 8 million people crossing the border illegally."

Abbott also approved a measure to add $1.54 billion in state aid to build more border walls and barriers and increase border security operations and law enforcement presence. The governor said Texas has already completed more than 16 miles (25.7 kilometers) of border wall and currently has more than 33 miles (53 kilometers) under construction. The state has also installed more than 110 miles (177 kilometers) of razor wire barrier at the Mexico border.

In addition, Abbott signed a new law cracking down on human smuggling and illegal immigrant stash houses. The measure creates a mandatory 10-year minimum prison sentence for smuggling illegal immigrants across the border and a five-year minimum sentence for operating a stash house.

"Texas (is) doing its part to step up and trying to secure a border made wide open by Joe Biden," said Abbott. "Biden's deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself."