88R26159 JRR-F
By: Hefner, Spiller, Orr, Metcalf, H.B. No. 1600
Morales of Maverick, et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1600:
By: Spiller C.S.H.B. No. 1600
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a criminal offense for illegal entry
into this state from Mexico by a person who is not a citizen or legal
permanent resident 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 No. GA-42 because they
have trafficked hundreds of millions of lethal doses of fentanyl
into this state since 2021;
(2) to fund this deadly violence, Mexican drug cartels
have recently smuggled aliens across the Texas-Mexico border at a
record-setting pace;
(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 offense under
8 U.S.C. Section 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, the federal government has
ignored repeated demands for aggressive prosecution of these
illegal-entry offenses by the United States Department of Homeland
Security and the United States Department of Justice;
(5) the federal government's refusal to faithfully
execute 8 U.S.C. Section 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
this state 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" to "repel invasions" under Section 7,
Article IV, Texas Constitution; and
(8) the governor has the authority to protect Texans
from cartel violence and defend the state's territorial integrity
by enforcing a state-law version of the illegal-entry offense that
the federal government has refused to use under 8 U.S.C. Section
1325(a)(1).
SECTION 2. Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 38.20 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.20. ILLEGAL ENTRY FROM MEXICO. (a) In this
section, "port of entry" has the meaning assigned by 19 C.F.R.
Section 101.1, as that provision existed on January 1, 2023.
(b) A person who is not a citizen or legal permanent
resident of the United States commits an offense if the person
enters or attempts to enter this state by crossing its border with
Mexico at any location other than a port of entry.
(c) 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 on the trial of the offense that the actor has
previously been convicted of an offense under this section.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.