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Mexico Foreign Minister Calls Texas Law "Xenophobic" Mexico's foreign Alicia Barcena minister called a Texas law that allows state law enforcement authorities to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border "anti-migrant" and "xenophobic" on March 19.The US Supreme Court let the Republican-backed Texas law take effect, rejecting a bid to block it by President Joe Biden's administration.Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the court's action "clearly a positive development."The Justice Department sued in January to block the measure, originally set to take effect on March 5. The administration said the law violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law by interfering with the U.S. government's power to regulate immigration as well as running afoul of a 2012 Supreme Court precedent.The Texas law made illegal entry or re-entry into Texas a state crime, with penalties ranging from 180 days in jail to 20 years in prison. It requires Texas magistrate judges to order migrants to return to Mexico, with up to 20-year sentences for those who refuse to comply.Texas has tried to deter people who cross illegally under its Operation Lone Star using measures including deploying National Guard troops to the border, blocking migrants with concertina wire and installing a floating barrier throughout the Rio Grande.