AUSTIN 性视界传媒 Republicans in the Texas Legislature have filed scores of bills related to citizenship, immigration and border security 性视界传媒 building on the signature issue of President Donald Trump性视界传媒檚 second term.
Ideas include establishing the Texas Department of Homeland Security, mandating proof of citizenship for people who are registering to vote, ending in-state tuition for undocumented migrants and requiring every local law enforcement officer to verify the immigration status of people who have been detained.
Trump campaigned on launching the largest deportation operation in the country性视界传媒檚 history. Republicans in the Legislature support Trump性视界传媒檚 immigration pledges and are hoping to aid his agenda with many of the proposed bills.
性视界传媒淲hatever it takes on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month basis, we are determined to secure the border with President Trump,性视界传媒 Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in an interview with CBS News in January.
The whatever-it-takes attitude resulted in at least 65 immigration bills being filed in the House and Senate. Some are meant to help Trump性视界传媒檚 mass deportation initiative, including a bill Patrick made a priority: requiring the largest sheriff性视界传媒檚 departments in Texas to have signed agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Other measures, however, are looking to solidify the state性视界传媒檚 role in immigration enforcement.
Trump性视界传媒檚 immigration crackdown has generally been well received, polls show, and in Texas, Republicans will continue proposing harsher measures so long as it doesn性视界传媒檛 begin to hurt them politically, experts say.
性视界传媒淧olitically, being tough on immigration will never go out of style for Republicans,性视界传媒 said Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston. 性视界传媒淪o they性视界传媒檙e going to continue to push this until it is no longer politically viable.性视界传媒
The day following Trump性视界传媒檚 victory, Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas might pull back on how much the state allocated for Operation Lone Star 性视界传媒 the state性视界传媒檚 border security crackdown that relies on Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to arrest migrants and charge them with criminal trespassing charges.
In the past few years, much of Texas性视界传媒 border security efforts has been focused on funding Operation Lone Star, which uses Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers stationed at the border. Lawmakers continuously funded Abbott性视界传媒檚 immigration crackdown since he launched it in March 2021. The program has ballooned to $11.1 billion and while Abbott suggested lawmakers may cut down on how much they性视界传媒檝e spent, the governor requested an additional $6.5 billion this session.
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said Texas held the line at the border during the Biden administration and now has a partner in the White House. Texas will continue with border security operations, he added.
性视界传媒淓ven before Operation Lone Star, Texas had a presence on the border and allocated funding for border security each legislative session, and we will continue to work to secure the border for not just the next four years, but the next forty years,性视界传媒 Mahaleris said in a statement.
Lawmakers must act now to ensure aggressive immigration enforcement, said Selene Rodriguez, who works for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential Austin-based conservative think tank.
性视界传媒淲e have to equip and protect ourselves now so that down the future, when things go south again, we already have what we need in place to defend all Texans,性视界传媒 she said.
Democratic state Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, who chairs the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, believes the proposals would hurt Texans.
性视界传媒淭exas leaders should be protecting our workforce and economy, not attacking it,性视界传媒 Romero said in a statement. 性视界传媒淲e should be focusing on funding public education, workforce development, infrastructure, and trade 性视界传媒 not raising costs and inflation, through burdensome, unfunded immigration enforcement mandates for political points.性视界传媒
Public safety focus
At least 20 bills awaiting legislative action broadly touch on public safety by giving state or local law enforcement more power to enforce immigration laws, increasing the penalty for migrants convicted of crimes or establishing a new state agency or department responsible for border security.
Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, filed Senate Bill 8, which requires sheriffs in the 43 counties with at least 100,000 residents to enter into signed agreements with ICE to give local law enforcement officers the authority to enforce some federal immigration laws.
性视界传媒淏y naming Senate Bill 8 a priority bill, we性视界传媒檙e taking a critical step toward arming our local law enforcement officers with the tools they need to identify, detain, and assist in the deportation of illegal aliens,性视界传媒 Schwertner said in a statement.
SB 8 would allow local officers to assist the Trump administration性视界传媒檚 mass deportation agenda, reinforcing a limited number of federal agents available to arrest or detain undocumented migrants within the country性视界传媒檚 interior.
Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, who has filed a more expansive version of SB 8 性视界传媒 House Bill 2361 性视界传媒 said immigration and border security is the top priority for residents in his North Texas district, even though the U.S.-Mexico border is hundreds of miles away.
Undocumented migrants who have prior criminal convictions or criminal charges can pose a danger to communities, Spiller said.
性视界传媒淲e性视界传媒檝e got to do everything we can to combat it, to make Texas safer,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淚 think that性视界传媒檚 why the effort is still there. That性视界传媒檚 why these bills are being filed.性视界传媒
Spiller also filed House Bill 2566, allowing a law officer to verify immigration status if the individual who has been detained does not have the proper documentation. If the individual does not provide documents proving they are a U.S. citizen within 48 hours, the officer must try and verify the person性视界传媒檚 immigration status.
The bill also requires law enforcement officers to verify an individual性视界传媒檚 immigration status if they are arrested or in jail.
性视界传媒淲e need to be able to know the type of folks that are being detained, arrested and prosecuted and convicted, we need to know their immigration status,性视界传媒 Spiller said. 性视界传媒淲e need to know because they may be in a federal database and we never even bother to look and they could be a huge danger.性视界传媒
Some Republicans want to cement the state性视界传媒檚 law enforcement presence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senate Bill 36 by Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, would establish a Homeland Security Division within DPS. Patrick made it a priority bill. The DPS director would appoint the division chief. The division would be responsible for planning border security operations, coordinate planning with other state and federal agencies and produce intelligence reports.
Citizenship status
Another top Republican focus is identifying noncitizens to stop them from receiving taxpayer money for social services, registering to vote or serving in public office.
Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, filed Senate Bill 309, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. In the House, there are eight Republican bills regarding citizenship verification when attempting to register to vote or when attempting to vote.
House Bill 304 by Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, would include language on a driver性视界传媒檚 license or state-issued ID card indicating whether the holder is eligible to vote. Guillen said it性视界传媒檚 meant to make it easier for election workers to identify noncitizens attempting to vote.
性视界传媒淚 think that性视界传媒檒l help make sure that we clear up who can and who can性视界传媒檛 [vote] and it性视界传媒檚 clear that way,性视界传媒 Guillen said. 性视界传媒淭here性视界传媒檚 no gray area.性视界传媒
Four bills aim to strip the ability for undocumented migrants to receive in-state tuition in Texas colleges or universities.
Requiring undocumented migrants to pay out-of-state tuition has been a desire of the most conservative faction of the Texas Republican party. Texas would not be the first state in the country to pass such a law.
In February, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several immigration-related bills. One of them stripped in-state tuition benefits from students who are undocumented.
