By: Hefner H.B. No. 1600
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a criminal offense for illegal entry
into Texas from Mexico by persons who are not citizens or legal
permanent residents of the United States.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
(1) Mexican drug cartels are designated as foreign
terrorist organizations in Executive Order GA-42 because they have
trafficked hundreds of millions of lethal doses of fentanyl into
Texas since 2021;
(2) to fund this deadly violence, Mexican drug cartels
have smuggled aliens across the Texas-Mexico border at a
record-setting pace under President Biden's open-border policies;
(3) this unprecedented surge of illegal immigration
has been a declared disaster for Texans since May 31, 2021;
(4) although an alien commits a federal crime under 8
U.S.C. 1325(a)(1) and its implementing regulations by entering the
United States at any time or place other than a federally designated
port of entry, President Biden has ignored repeated demands for
aggressive prosecution of these illegal-entry offenses by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice;
(5) President Biden's refusal to faithfully execute 8
U.S.C. 1325(a)(1) and other immigration laws enacted by Congress
has broken the federal government's promise to "protect each
[State] against Invasion" under Section 4, Article IV, United
States Constitution;
(6) this federal dereliction of duty has compelled
Texas to protect its own border against invasion by Mexican drug
cartels, using the sovereign powers reserved to the States;
(7) as "Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of
the State," the Governor has the power to "call forth the militia to
execute the laws of the State" and "repel invasions" under Section
7, Article IV, Texas Constitution; and
(8) the Governor can protect Texans from cartel
violence and defend the State's territorial integrity by enforcing
a state-law version of the illegal-entry offense that President
Biden has refused to use under 8 U.S.C. 1325(a)(1).
SECTION 2. Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 51 to read as follows:
Chapter 51. ILLEGAL ENTRY
Sec. 51.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Person" means any individual other than a citizen
or legal permanent resident of the United States.
(2) "Port of entry" has the same meaning assigned to
that term by Section 101.1, Title 19, Federal Code of Regulations.
Sec. 51.02. ILLEGAL ENTRY. (a) A person commits an offense
if the person enters or attempts to enter the State of Texas by
crossing its border with Mexico at any time or place other than at a
port of entry.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if
it is shown at the trial of the offense that the defendant has been
previously convicted of an offense under this section.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.