Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4, which lets Texas officers arrest people on mere suspicion of illegal entry; Texas officers arrested nearly forty people under it in 2025, before courts allowed it to be enforced. In May 2024 he pardoned Daniel Perry, whom a Travis County jury had convicted of murdering a protester at a 2020 Austin march, and in April 2024 he ordered state troopers to help police break up pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Texas at Austin, where prosecutors dropped the trespassing charges against 57 people arrested the first day.
In October 2025 Abbott also authorized sending Texas National Guard troops to other states, and about 200 went to the Chicago area before a federal judge kept them out of the city.
Greg Abbott's SB 4, His Perry Pardon and His Use of Troopers and Guard Troops
- Abbott Signed SB 4, Which Lets Texas Officers Arrest People on Suspicion of Illegal Entry. On December 18, 2023, Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4, which lets a wide range of peace officers, from sheriffs to park rangers, arrest people on mere suspicion of entering or reentering Texas illegally, and lets state judges order them deported to Mexico. Texas has been allowed to enforce it since a federal appeals court ruling in 2026, JURIST reported on June 1, 2026. Records requests showed Texas officers arrested nearly forty people under SB 4 during 2025, before the law had taken effect, and advocates have documented people arrested under it and quickly transferred to ICE custody without a chance to defend themselves against the state charges, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center reported in July 2026.
- Abbott Pardoned the Man a Jury Convicted of Murdering a Protester at a 2020 Austin March. On May 16, 2024, Greg Abbott pardoned Daniel Perry, who was serving 25 years in prison after a Travis County jury convicted him of murdering Garrett Foster, an Air Force veteran, at a 2020 Austin march against police violence. A day after the verdict, Abbott had asked the state parole board to review the case, and the pardon he approved also restored Perry's firearm rights, the Texas Tribune reported. Whitney Mitchell, Foster's partner, said: "With this pardon, the Governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and US Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury's just verdict."
- Abbott Sent State Troopers to a UT Austin Protest Where 57 Were Arrested and Every Charge Was Dropped. On April 24, 2024, more than 100 Department of Public Safety troopers, sent at the university's request and at Greg Abbott's direction, joined campus and Austin police at a pro-Palestinian protest on the UT Austin campus, where officers arrested 57 people; the Texas Tribune saw no signs of violence before officers armed with batons moved in. The Travis County attorney dismissed all 57 criminal trespass charges the next day because law enforcement had lacked probable cause for the arrests, according to her spokesperson. A FOX 7 photojournalist was among those arrested, and the university barred arrested students from campus except for academic reasons.
- Abbott Authorized Texas Guard Troops for Chicago, Where a Judge Found No Credible Evidence of Rebellion. In early October 2025, after Illinois's governor urged him to refuse, Greg Abbott said he fully authorized President Trump to send up to 400 Texas National Guard members to other states, the Texas Tribune reported on October 6, 2025. About 200 Texas Guard members went to the Chicago area, where a federal judge barred their deployment into the city, ruling that she found "no credible evidence there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois"; the Supreme Court later ruled against Trump's use of the military in Illinois, WTTW reported.
What Greg Abbott's Actions Mean for Texans' Rights to Protest and Move Freely
- Anyone in Texas suspected of being undocumented can now be arrested by Texas officers. Since SB 4 took effect in 2026, people in Texas suspected of being undocumented live under the threat of arrest, detention and deportation by state and local officers, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center wrote, and the law lets state judges order deportations within 48 hours of arrest.
- A second UT Austin crackdown led to 79 more arrests and dropped charges. On April 29, 2024, police arrested 79 more people at a second UT Austin protest; on June 26, 2024 the Travis County attorney dropped their criminal trespass charges because her office could not prove them beyond a reasonable doubt, while more serious charges from that day remained under review.
Frequently Asked Questions About Greg Abbott on Civil liberties
What is Greg Abbott's record on free speech and civil liberties under Trump?
Greg Abbott signed SB 4, which Texas has been allowed to enforce since 2026 and which lets officers arrest people on suspicion of illegal entry. He pardoned Daniel Perry, whom a jury found guilty of murdering Garrett Foster during a protest, and ordered state troopers to help break up 2024 UT Austin protests, where the trespassing charges against everyone arrested the first day were dropped. In October 2025 he authorized Texas Guard troops for deployment to Chicago, which a federal judge blocked.
Did Greg Abbott pardon the man convicted of killing a protester in Austin?
Yes. Greg Abbott pardoned Daniel Perry on May 16, 2024, more than a year after a jury convicted him of murdering Garrett Foster. Travis County District Attorney José Garza said the board and the governor had "put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system."
Did Greg Abbott send state troopers to arrest UT Austin protesters?
Greg Abbott directed state troopers to assist campus police against the April 2024 pro-Palestinian protests at UT Austin. Across the two crackdowns, the Travis County attorney dropped criminal trespass charges against 136 people.
Last updated: 2026-10-26