Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday set himself on a collision course with Joe Biden as he enacted sweeping powers to deal with the migrant crisis.

The laws will enable cops to arrest illegal migrants and allow judges to boot them back across the Mexico border. The Republican governor said it could slash the number of crossings by up to three quarters - but the Biden administration is bound to attack its constitutional legality.

It comes as 2,000 migrants are crossing the frontier everyday, with Texas bearing the brunt of the crisis. Biden has failed to confront the spiraling humanitarian disaster at the border and even received criticism from within Democratic ranks.

Opponents have called Abbott's measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law - denounced by critics as the 'Show Me Your Papers' bill - that was largely struck down by the US Supreme Court. 

The law will likely face a quick legal challenge by the White House, which has pushed back on the Governor's previous attempts to reduce the flow of migrants.

The law, known as SB4, takes effect in March and allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people who are suspected of entering the country illegally. Those who re-enter face penalties ranging from 180 days in jail to 20 years in prison. 

Abbott, who signed the law in front of a section of border fence in Brownsville, Texas, predicted the number of people crossing illegally into Texas would drop by 'well over 50 percent, maybe 75 percent.' He did not offer evidence for such an estimate.