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Texas Strikes Back: Push to Make Illegal Immigration a State Felony Amid Border Crisis

TFPP Wire By TFPP Wire
Published March 15, 2023 at 5:01pm
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Texas state Republicans are introducing legislation to make illegal entry from Mexico a felony, amid accusations that the Biden administration has left border states to handle the immigration crisis on their own.

Republican state representative Matt Schaefer’s bill would establish a “Border Protection Unit,” an expanded state border patrol team to address the surge in migrants. The bill must pass the legislature by the end of May to become law.

The Border Protection Unit would be led by a governor-appointed chief, who could recruit a civilian militia without felony convictions to “participate in unit operations and functions.”

Illegal immigrants who are arrested could face up to 10 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

Zavala County sheriff Eusevio Salinas said, “Right now we can use all the help and any help at all that we can get, because we’re being overrun down here and on the borders.”

This proposed bill follows Texas Republicans urging the Biden administration to reimburse the state for its efforts to address the border crisis through Operation Lone Star.

“Texas has been forced by this administration to go it alone when it comes to securing our border,” stated U.S. representative Pat Fallon (R., Texas). “Operation Lone Star has been a critical tool in stemming the tide of illegal immigration, but we cannot do it by ourselves.”

Should illegal immigration be a felony?

The U.S. Border Patrol has encountered nearly 800,000 migrants in fiscal year 2023 thus far.

The proposed bill states, “The Legislature, acting with the governor, has the solemn duty to protect and defend the citizens of Texas. Texas is in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.”

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