Texas Lawmakers Double Down on Bills to Secure Its Border With Mexico

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

More than two dozen bills on immigration and border enforcement have been pre-filed for the 89th Texas Legislature that convenes this month.

Texas lawmakers pre-filed around two dozen border and immigration bills ahead of the state’s 2025 legislative session aiming at securing its border with Mexico without relying on the federal government’s progress in tackling illegal immigration.

With some 11 million non-citizens entering the United States under the Biden administration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican-led legislature began crafting laws to address what they considered an invasion of the country caused by lax border policies.

While President-elect Donald Trump has vowed a mass deportation operation and praised the state’s efforts to stop illegal immigration through Operation Lone Star (OLS), it appears the GOP-led legislature isn’t taking any chances that future presidents will protect the Texas-Mexico border.

Abbott initiated OLS to counter a rise in illegal immigration, the illegal drug trade, and human smuggling that rose sharply in 2021.

The operation pays for Texas troopers and National Guard members at the border as well as the prosecution and jailing of illegal immigrants, primarily for trespassing and evading arrest.

With the state’s 89th legislative session convening on Jan. 14, notable Texas border bills include renewed attempts to create a Texas Division of Homeland Security, a Texas Border Protection Unit, and bills aiding the incoming president’s efforts to secure the border.

Other bills focus on restricting public assistance for illegal immigrants, while HB 219 and HB 89 would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in Texas.

Texas Sovereignty

The Texas Border Protection Unit Act, HB 354, is similar to HB 20, which was introduced in the 2023 legislative session and died on a point of order. Filed by Republican Rep. Brisco Cain, the bill would give law enforcement officers the authority to arrest those crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally, just like federal border patrol agents.

Law enforcement in the unit would also have the authority to “deter persons attempting to cross the border unlawfully” with non-lethal crowd control measures.

The bill states the “security of Texans and the sovereignty of this state” have been threatened by transnational cartels, which are trafficking fentanyl and illegal immigrants.

The unit would also manage the construction and maintenance of the state’s border wall and physical barriers, such as buoys in the Rio Grande and razor wire.

“Voters have given us a clear mandate: secure the border and support Trump in achieving these priorities,” Cain told The Epoch Times via a text message.

Cain said even with Trump’s commitment to securing the border, Texas has a constitutional duty to protect its citizens.

“Federal measures can often fall short or fail to address the unique challenges we face as a border state,” he stated.

HB 354 would ensure that the “safety and sovereignty of Texans” aren’t left to the mercy of future administrations, he said.

State Republican Sen. Bob Hall filed Senate Bill (SB) 135 in a second attempt to establish the Texas Division of Homeland Security. It is similar to HB 127, which failed to progress and died in the 2023 legislative session.

The division would coordinate border security and related crimes within the state and with federal law enforcement.

Hall also filed SB 81, which would give Texas DPS officers the authority to arrest and deport people to Mexico who enter Texas illegally.

It would give law enforcement the power to arrest and prosecute criminals attempting to traffic drugs and illegal immigrants.

ICE Agreements

Republicans are also introducing legislation that would require sheriffs to cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

SB 658 and SB 134 would mandate that sheriffs request and, if offered, enter into written agreements with ICE to help protect the border.

These partnerships are known as 287(g) agreements and would help supply extra manpower and logistical support to crackdown on illegal immigration, and aid mass deportation under Trump.

SB 658 would require sheriffs in counties with a population of 250,000 or more to request and possibly enter into written agreements with ICE to “enforce federal immigration law.”

The measure would also set up a grant fund to reimburse sheriffs for additional costs associated with cooperating with ICE.

SB 134 is broader in scope, requiring all county sheriffs to apply for an agreement with ICE or face a loss in state grant money.

Similarly, HB 1491 would require county commissioners to apply and enter into agreements with ICE if offered to enforce federal immigration laws.

Illegal Immigrant Children

Two other house bills deal with protecting children crossing from Mexico into Texas unlawfully.

Under the proposed HB 256, the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) would conduct rapid DNA tests on those entering the United States illegally who are detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are suspected of misrepresenting a family relationship.

Likewise, HB 1072 would require OLS officers to fingerprint and interview children unlawfully crossing the border if there is reason to believe they are being trafficked or in danger.

Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan recently pledged to help locate children who have lost touch with federal authorities after crossing into the United States during the Biden administration. Estimates put the number of such children at more than 300,000, according to an August 2024 report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General.

Legal Challenge

After hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants arrived at the U.S. southern border, Abbott in 2024 invoked the invasion clause of the United States and Texas constitutions to justify the state’s ongoing border operations.

The idea of state sovereignty was also behind Texas’s SB 4, which became law in March of 2024 and has remained in limbo pending an appeals court ruling.

Under SB 4, illegal immigrants who enter Texas outside legal ports of entry could be arrested on Class B misdemeanor charges and sentenced to up to six months in jail. Repeat offenders could face second-degree felony charges and sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

Judges are granted leeway under SB 4 to drop the charges if the illegal immigrants agree to return to Mexico.

U.S. Department of Justice and civil rights groups sued to stop SB 4, saying immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government, not the states.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Arizona v. United States that federal law preempted state law when it comes to immigration.

Texas is betting the decision could be reversed under a more conservative high court.

The U.S. Supreme Court briefly allowed SB 4 to go into effect in 2024 before sending it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which once again placed it on hold pending a ruling on the case.