Things on the border since the ending of Title 42 have been hectic, even though the Biden administration says otherwise. The crisis of illegal crossings continues getting worse, and now with summer heating up, many officials and lawmakers along the border are calling for something new.
It would be a state border security agency. The idea was actually up for discussion during this legislative session, in the form of House Bill 20. Chris Russo from Texans for Strong Borders says politics knocked the idea down before it could even get its wings.
"That unit would have basically had the authority to repel illegal crossings between ports of entries, along the river and other such spots," he says. "That bill, HB20, got to the House floor, then died on a 'Point of Order,' which is basically a procedural way of saying it cannot advance because of a procedural problem."
The idea then got haphazardly lumped into House Bill 7, another border bill, which failed to make it out of committee before session's end.
That, to Russo, is almost unforgivable in itself.
"Even in the face of a crisis at the border, the Texas Legislature failed to get anything substantive done to combat this border crisis," he says. "That is a huge disappointment."
His organization, Texans for Strong Borders, has sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, asking that the idea in its entirety get added to the ongoing special session.
But getting down to brass tacks, does this bill even have the support it would need to see light of day?
"I think there is political will to get this done from the people," he says. "The disagreements come over structure and policy...and if you are a citizen who wants to see this get done, I would encourage writing to your local representative."
This special session, Abbott has taken some small border action, calling for enhanced penalties for people involved in human smuggling operations. But Russo says that does not begin to scrape the surface of the problem.
"There needs to be focus on all aspects of border security, not just enhanced penalties for human smuggling," he says. "That is something we strongly support...but it is not going to get the job done."
Should the agency ever become reality, it would fall under the umbrella of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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