About 100 sheriffs came to the Texas state Capitol in Austin on Wednesday to support Gov. Greg Abbott's new migrant law, but they had mixed responses on how they plan to enforce it, reports the Associated Press.
Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County said there's no practical way to do it, which is why he hasn't changed his tactics. His county has fewer than 1,000 residents, his jail has a capacity for just seven people and the closest port of entry is a drive of more than two and a half hours away. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, the president of the Texas Sheriff’s Association, said the law will have little effect in his jurisdiction in East Texas, which is far closer to neighboring Louisiana and Oklahoma than Mexico. "If we start going and talking to everybody and asking for papers, where do we stop?” Smith said. Texas has argued the law mirrors the U.S. government’s immigration enforcement, while The Justice Department has argued that Texas's law violates federal authority.