Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has revealed his plans to sign a new state law aimed at addressing the issue of illegal immigration in the Lone Star State.

In a Sunday interview with Fox News, the Republican governor emphasized the need for Texas to take proactive measures to prevent illegal entry into the state, citing concerns about the impact of open border policies under the Biden Administration.

“The problem is extraordinarily bad,” he stated, referring to the surge in illegal crossings since President Joe Biden took office. He highlighted the alarming statistics, including data from the Federation for American Immigration Reform and Yale University, which indicate that between 16.8 million and 29 million illegal migrants currently reside in the United States.

A significant portion of these migrants entered the country during President Biden’s tenure, overwhelming U.S. Border Patrol authorities.

To address this issue, Texas Republicans sent Abbott SB4, a bill designed to enhance border security by authorizing local police to handle immigration enforcement. The proposed legislation would make it a state misdemeanor to cross the Texas-Mexico border illegally, and it would grant judges the authority to order immigrants to return to Mexico.

If enacted, this law could be the key to curbing illegal immigration in Texas. Hence, Abbott is willing to sign it.

Telling Fox News about it, he said, “Texas is having to step up and do even more to make sure that we deny illegal entry into the state of Texas and as a result … in two weeks I’ll be singing [the] new law.”

Abbott also expressed concerns about individuals on the FBI terror watch list reportedly attempting to enter the United States illegally.

That’s why Texas is having to step up and apprehend as many of these people as possible to make sure that they’re not posing a threat to our country, but this is a very serious existential threat to our country caused by Joe Biden. And that’s exactly why Texas is taking extraordinary steps to try to crack down on it,” he stated.

In response to the ongoing immigration challenges, Texas has taken measures as serious as transporting roughly 70,000 immigrants to Democrat-run cities across the nation, including Washington D.C., Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Denver.

Earlier this year, state officials also deployed deterrence buoys in the Rio Grande River to reduce the influx of illegal immigrants into the U.S. However, this action led to legal battles with the Department of Justice, which argued that the state had unlawfully placed the buoys.

While the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the removal of the barriers, Abbott, undeterred, has vowed to take the issue to the Supreme Court if necessary.