Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador strongly criticized a law in the US state of Texas that authorizes law enforcement to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the US-Mexico border, saying that Mexico will not accept the deportation of any illegal immigrant from Texas.

“Let me say this once and for all, we will not accept deportations from the Texas government“, López Obrador said today in a press conference.

Yesterday, a US federal appeals court froze this controversial Texas anti-immigration law, one of the strictest ever adopted by a US state, hours after the Supreme Court cleared the way for its implementation, raising uncertainty over the future of the controversial measure it promotes Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

Under the law, illegal entry or re-entry into the State is a felony, with penalties for offenders ranging from 180 days in jail to 20 years in prison for repeat offenders. At the same time, it requires Texan judges to request the deportation of illegal immigrants to Mexico.

The law is draconian, inhumane and unjust, the Mexican president said today, warning that the law would bring a diplomatic response from Mexico.

“We are against this draconian law, it is completely against human rights, completely inhumane, anti-Christian, unjust, it violates the rules of human coexistence (and) not only international law, but also the Bible“, he emphasized.

On the other hand, yesterday, the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Barcena, said that her country “will not under any circumstances accept repatriations from the State of Texas”.