By: Perry, et al. S.R. No. 539
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The State of Texas and the United States federal
government are charged with protecting 1,254 miles of land along
Texas' border with Mexico, a job that has become increasingly
violent as this state has succumbed to an invasion by foreign
drug cartels; and
WHEREAS, These foreign drug cartels bring terror to Texas
communities by flooding the streets with deadly narcotics,
forcing women and children into human and sex trafficking,
enriching themselves on the misery and enslavement of Texans, and
butchering and murdering anyone who tries to stop them; and
WHEREAS, In fiscal year 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection reports over 172,000 pounds of illegal narcotics have
been seized from foreign drug cartels in Texas; and
WHEREAS, Specifically, federal seizures of fentanyl in
Texas have dramatically increased by more then 750 percent this
fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, In fiscal year 2021, the U.S. Border Patrol has
already arrested more than 5,800 noncitizens that were
determined to have prior criminal records; and
WHEREAS, The Office of the Texas Attorney General
estimates that there are 234,000 victims of labor trafficking and
79,000 victims of youth and minor sex trafficking at any given
time in Texas; and
WHEREAS, State and local law enforcement agencies are
forced to contend with extensive and dangerous criminal activity
resulting from, or associated with, foreign drug cartels,
thereby putting Texas law enforcement officials in danger and
draining resources away from protecting our communities; and
WHEREAS, The State of Texas has attempted to address the
problem by adding hundreds of commissioned law enforcement
officers to the border, purchasing state-of-the-art helicopters,
conducting border security surge operations, and paying millions
of dollars for overtime, training, equipment, and technology for
local law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, Law enforcement agencies working together in
Texas have seized billions of dollars in illegal drugs and
hundreds of millions in cash, along with thousands of firearms,
and weapons, all related to the invasion of drug cartels; and
WHEREAS, Texas has repeatedly asked the federal government
to send more border security resources to the state, requesting
an increase in manpower of border patrol agents and the
deployment of National Guard troops; and
WHEREAS, Texas prisons house violent offenders that claim
foreign citizenship, and the state bears the cost of housing and
prosecuting those offenders; and
WHEREAS, Texas taxpayers have spent billions compensating
for the lack of federal resources provided to the state; and
WHEREAS, The inability of the federal government to
develop a comprehensive plan that would address this border
security problem puts an unfair and unreasonable burden on the
entire state, but in particular on Texas border communities; and
WHEREAS, Under Article I, Section 10 of the United States
Constitution, Texas is entitled as a sovereign state of the
United States of America to protect itself against this current
foreign drug cartel invasion, which grants the State of Texas the
power to defend the state when the state has been invaded, or is
"in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay"; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of 87th Texas Legislature hereby
respectfully request the federal government to immediately
declare violent foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist
organizations under Section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. ยง 1189; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate hereby find that the State
of Texas has been invaded by foreign drug cartels and that the
citizens of this state are in danger of irreparable harm; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate hereby encourage the Texas
Military Department and all applicable state resources as
needed, to use any and all authority under Article I, Section 10
of the United States Constitution to repel this violent foreign
drug cartel invasion, and that such authority should be invoked
with the intention of utilizing such authority in the most
peaceful manner possible consistent with bringing this invasion
to a conclusion at the earliest possible moment.