Texans for Strong Borders Calls on Gov. Abbott to Widen the Call for Special Session on Border Security
Houston, TX, May 30, 2023 — Last night, Governor Greg Abbott issued a call for an immediate special session that included border security measures.
Abbott’s call is limited to property tax relief legislation as well as “[l]egislation solely for the purpose of increasing or enhancing the penalties for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house.” The two landmark pieces of legislation on this subject were HB 800 by Rep. Ryan Guillen (R-Rio Grande City) and SB 600 by Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury). This specific call was one of Abbott’s emergency items listed in his State of the State address.
Texans for Strong Borders applauds Governor Abbott’s swift action to call lawmakers back for a special session. However, enhancing penalties for human smuggling alone will not solve the crisis facing our state and nation, particularly in the aftermath of Title 42 and the Biden Administration’s abuse of humanitarian parole and the CBP One app.
We call upon Governor Abbott to widen this call to cover other landmark legislation filed this session, including:
- Creation of the Texas Border Protection Unit with the power to repel and remove aliens crossing illegally between ports of entry (HB 20 by Rep. Matt Schaefer)
- Declaration of Invasion pursuant to Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution (SCR 23 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst)
- Mandate E-Verify for all Employers (SB 1621 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst)
- Finish the Texas Border Wall (SB 1481 by Sen. Brandon Creighton)
- Repeal In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens (HB 3280 by Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson)
Texans for Strong Borders President Chris Russo issued the following statement:
“Texas is under invasion and millions of illegal aliens have crossed the Texas Border and entered our state illegally since President Joe Biden took office. Despite this, the Texas Legislature failed to pass any meaningful border security legislation in the regular session. We applaud Governor Abbott’s call for a special session, but enhanced penalties on human smuggling alone are not enough to stem the tide of millions of illegal aliens entering our state. We urge him to widen the call to include repelling the invasion at our border, mandating E-Verify for employers, finishing the Texas border wall, and ending taxpayer handouts to illegal aliens. The future of Texas depends on it.”
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