The Texas legislature will consider a border resolution, declaring that the state is under invasion. Additionally, the legislation requires the federal government to designate Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst of Texas has introduced three pieces of legislation and one resolution to address the border problem, including one that would proclaim Texas to be under attack by Mexican drug gangs.
Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, stated that one of the most frequent inquiries she receives from people is in regard to what Texas is doing to counteract the lack of a secure border. She stated in a press release that although the federal government is responsible for border management, the government has failed to protect Texas and the United States. Kolkhorst added that as a result, Texans are suffering, which is why she has introduced legislation to address the horrific fentanyl crisis, increase penalties for illegal migrants who break the laws, ensure that workers are legally permitted to work in the United States, and inform the federal government of foreign drug cartels invading Texas.
Resolution SCR23 will make Texas a sovereign state that has the right to defend itself against foreign drug cartel invasion; under this constitutional authority, the state can defend itself when it has been invaded or is in such immediate danger that it cannot delay its defense. In addition, it requests that the federal government designate Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, something the Biden administration has stated it would not do.
It also requests that the Texas Legislature find that foreign drug cartels have invaded it. Consequently, its citizens have faced irreparable harm due to the invasion. According to the resolution, law enforcement agencies are to use any and all resources available under Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution.
At least 42 counties in Texas have been declared invaded by the Republican Party of Texas and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Moreover, Kolkhorst introduced SB 1620 to increase state punishments for criminal offenses committed by foreigners who entered the United States. According to the bill’s language, the bill would amend the penal code regarding criminal offenses that are prosecuted and punished in the course and scope of unlawful entry into the United States, including unlawfully bypassing certain law enforcement checkpoints and evading an arrest or detention; the bill increasing criminal penalties.
Bill 1621 would compel municipal governments, state contractors, and private companies in Texas to participate in E-Verify, a federal system that verifies employees’ eligibility to work in the United States. Since 2015, Texas state entities have been obliged to utilize E-Verify.
It would compel more organizations to comply with E-Verify than a measure introduced in January by state representative Matt Shaheen.
Presently, no state legislation mandates E-Verify compliance for private firms. Critics believe that special interests and Texas corporations that have fought against tougher employment verification regulations may be abusing migrants for cheap labor and mistakenly or purposely engaging in forced labor and human trafficking. The measure by Kolkhorst would modify this.
She also filed Bill 1622, which would add a new offense to the state’s health and safety code, in accordance with a vow made earlier this year by Governor Greg Abbott: anyone who produces or supplies fentanyl that results in the death of a person shall be prosecuted for murder.
The governor’s legislative priorities include addressing the fentanyl problem and securing the border. He has maintained that accidental fentanyl ingestion and death would be categorized as “poisoning.” In addition, their death will be considered murder. Anybody who deliberately laced a pill with fentanyl and sold it to a victim should be prosecuted, tried, and convicted of murder, Abbott said last October during a conference with sheriffs to discuss the fentanyl issue and border-related crime.
Under Kolkhorst’s proposed legislation, the new offense would be categorized as a felony of the first degree and carry a penalty of life in prison or five to ninety-nine years in a Texas state prison. She said she introduced the legislation because crimes perpetrated by unlawful foreign nationals, people, and drug traffickers “would not be tolerated.” According to Kolkhorst, when the federal government shirks its responsibilities, Texas will fulfill its constitutional obligation to safeguard its persons, property, and border.