By: Creighton S.C.R. No. 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Transnational cartels are exploiting weak and unsecure points along the United States Southern Border to expand their criminal enterprises and terrorize Americans; and WHEREAS, 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl were seized by U.S. authorities in 2022, enough to kill every American man, woman, and child; and WHEREAS, The State of Texas is charged with protecting its citizens and is empowered to defend itself against invasion under Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution; WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution states that the Governor of Texas "shall be Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of the State" and has the power to organize armed forces to "repel invasions"; and WHEREAS, The United States Federal Government is charged, in the United States Constitution, to "provide for the common defense" and protect its States "against invasion" under the Preamble and Article IV, Section 4, respectively; and WHEREAS, The State of Texas has spent $4 billion on border initiatives in the 2021-2022 biennium, investing in state-of-the-art detection equipment, a border wall, and calling up tens of thousands of members of National and State Guard units; WHEREAS, Operation Lone Star's multi-agency effort has led to over 352,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 23,000 criminal arrests; and WHEREAS, Both human and drug trafficking by transnational cartels have created a security threat and humanitarian disaster by terrorizing residents of the United States and the State of Texas; and WHEREAS, Four United States citizens were kidnapped by a cartel abroad in early March, two of them brutally murdered. Unfortunately, the tragic incident was not isolated, and violence permeates any area these transnational cartels inhabit; and WHEREAS, The continual violation of Texas's sovereignty and territorial integrity has resulted in reports of residents of Texas being assaulted, threatened with violence, and robbed; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby declare an invasion by transnational cartel terrorists under Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution and Article IV, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Legislature ask Governor Abbott to accelerate the construction of a wall along the Southern Border, utilizing Eminent Domain where necessary, to prevent the entrance of transnational cartels into the state; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Legislature demand that the U.S. Congress recognize its obligation under the U.S. Constitution to "provide for the common defense" by voting to deploy U.S. military forces to combat transnational cartels; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Legislature demand that the federal government allocate more financial support to Texas' border security wall and reimburse Texas for past expenditures on security efforts to repel invaders at its Southern Border; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Texas Secretary of State forward official copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.