Author: Darlene McCormick Sanchez, kaudu The Epoch Times,
Texas lawmakers filed about two dozen border and immigration bills ahead of the state’s 2025 legislative session aimed at securing the border with Mexico without relying on the federal government’s progress in fighting illegal immigration.
With about 11 million non-citizens entering the United States during the Biden administration, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and a Republican-led lawmaker began drafting laws to address what they saw as an invasion of the state caused by loose border policies.
While President-elect Donald Trump has promised a mass deportation operation and praised the state’s efforts to stop illegal immigration through Operation Lone Star (OLS), the GOP-led lawmaker appears to be taking no chances of future presidents protecting the Texas-Mexico border.
Abbott launched the OLS to combat the growth of illegal immigration, illicit drug trafficking and human smuggling, which increased sharply in 2021.
The operation pays for Texas troopers and National Guard members at the border, as well as for prosecuting and imprisoning illegal immigrants, primarily treason and evading arrest.
As the state’s 89th legislative session meets on Jan. 14, notable Texas border laws include new attempts to create the Texas Department of Homeland Security, the Texas Border Protection Unit, and bills to help the incoming president secure the border.
Other bills focus on limiting public assistance to illegal immigrants, while HB 219 and HB 89 would require proof of citizenship to register for voting in Texas.
Texas sovereignty
The Texas Border Protection Unit Act, HB 354, is similar to HB 20, which was enacted during the 2023 legislative session and died on a point of order. The bill, introduced by Republican Representative Brisco Cain, would empower law enforcement officers to arrest those who cross the Texas-Mexico border illegally, just like federal border patrol agents.
The unit’s law enforcement officers would also have the power to “prevent persons trying to cross the border illegally” with non-lethal crowd control measures.
The bill says that “the security of the Texans and the sovereignty of this country” have been threatened by international cartels, which are the trafficking of fentanyl and illegal immigrants.
The unit would also manage the construction and maintenance of the state border wall and physical barriers such as Rio Grande buoys and razor wire.
“The voters have given us a clear mandate: to secure the border and support Trump in delivering on these priorities,” he said. Cain told The Epoch Times via text message.
Cain said that even if Trump is committed to securing the border, Texas has a constitutional obligation to protect its citizens.
“Federal measures can often be insufficient or fail to address the unique challenges we face as a border state,” he said.
HB 354 would ensure that “the safety and sovereignty of Texans” is not left at the mercy of future administrations, he said.
State Republican Senator Bob Hall tabled Senate Bill (SB) 135 in a second attempt to create the Texas Department of Homeland Security. It is similar to HB 127, which did not progress and died in the 2023 legislative session.
The department would coordinate border security and related crimes in the state and federal law enforcement.
Hall also filed SB 81, which would empower Texas DPS officials to arrest and deport to Mexico people entering Texas illegally.
This would give law enforcement the power to arrest and prosecute criminals who attempt to trade drugs and illegal immigrants.
ICE contracts
Republicans are also enacting legislation that would require sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
SB 658 and SB 134 would mandate sheriffs to apply for and, if offered, enter into written contracts with ICE to help protect the border.
These partnerships are known as 287(g) agreements and would help provide additional manpower and logistical support to suppress illegal immigration and contribute to mass deportations under Trump.
SB 658 would require county sheriffs with a population of 250,000 or more to apply for written contracts with ICE and, if possible, enter into them “to enforce federal immigration law.”
The measure would also create a grant fund to reimburse the sheriffs for the additional costs associated with cooperation with ICE.
SB 134 has a broader scope, requiring all county sheriffs to apply for a contract with ICE or lose state support money.
Similarly, HB 1491 would require county commissioners to apply to the ICE and enter into contracts with them when offered to enforce federal immigration laws.
Children of illegal immigrants
Two other house bills are about protecting children arriving illegally from Mexico to Texas.
Under the proposed HB 256, the state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) would conduct rapid DNA tests on individuals illegally entering the United States who are detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) and suspected of misrepresenting family relationships.
HB 1072 would also require OLS officials to fingerprint and question children who crossed the border illegally if there is reason to believe they are being trafficked or at risk.
Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming border island, recently vowed to help find children who have lost contact with federal authorities since entering the U.S. during the Biden administration. The number of such children is estimated to be more than 300,000, according to an August 2024 report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
Legal challenge
After hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants arrived at the U.S. southern border, Abbott relied on the United States and Texas constitutional invasion clauses in 2024 to justify the state’s ongoing border operations.
The idea of state sovereignty was also behind Texas SB 4, which became law in March 2024 and has remained uncertain until the appeals court ruled out.
Under SB 4, illegal immigrants entering Texas outside of legal ports of entry can be arrested on a Class B misdemeanor charge and sentenced to up to six months in prison. Repeat offenders can face second-degree felony charges and up to 20 years in prison.
Judges are given freedom under SB 4 to drop charges if illegal immigrants agree to return to Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Justice and civil rights groups sued to stop SB 4, saying it’s the federal government, not the states, that is responsible for enforcing immigration.
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Arizona v. United States, ruled that federal law prevents state laws on immigration.
Texas is betting that the decision could be reversed under a more conservative high court.
The U.S. Supreme Court briefly allowed SB 4 to take effect in 2024 before referring it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which again put it on hold pending a ruling on the case.
