By: Creighton  S.C.R. No. 29
         (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2023; March 16, 2023, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Border Security;
  May 10, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 3,
  Nays 2; May 10, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
              COMMITTEE VOTE              YeaNayAbsent PNVBirdwell       X              Flores         X              Blanco            X           Hinojosa          X           King           X              
 
 
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; and
         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; and
         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' 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.
 
  * * * * *