By: Bettencourt, et al. S.R. No. 535

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has the moral and constitutional responsibility to fully maintain the operational security of the Texas-Mexico international border; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has neglected to fully fund the maintenance, order, and safety of the Texas-Mexico international border; and

WHEREAS, An unprotected border facilitates drug smuggling and human trafficking and opens the door to spillover violence from criminal cartels and poses a grave threat to homeland security; and

WHEREAS, On March 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, sent an urgent request to the United States Congress describing the border as "a humanitarian and security catastrophe that is worsening by the day;" and

WHEREAS, DHS is expected to report the interdiction of 100,000 migrants in March 2019, which would be the highest monthly total in a decade; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had 12,000 migrants in custody the last week of March 2019, an unprecedented number; and

WHEREAS, Secretary Nielsen reports that the volume of "vulnerable populations" is unsustainable and DHS, CBP, and Health and Human Services (HHS) facilities are at peak capacity to shelter unaccompanied alien children (UAC); and

WHEREAS, Due to the unprecedented influx of migrants overwhelming the capacity at CBP stations and the ongoing crisis, U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Del Rio Sector have begun releasing detainees into Texas; and

WHEREAS, News reports reveal undocumented women have made their way into American border towns after being beaten for disobeying smugglers, impregnated by strangers, coerced into prostitution, shackled to beds and trees, and – in at least a handful of cases – bound with duct tape, rope, or handcuffs; and

WHEREAS, 194,000 criminal aliens booked into Texas jails from 2011-2019 were charged with more than 299,000 criminal offenses; and

WHEREAS, CBP reports the unprecedented increase in migrant interdictions is having a detrimental impact on CBP's primary border security mission and security posture resulting in up to 40 percent or more of CBP personnel working to care for, transport, and process vulnerable families and children; and

WHEREAS, Transnational criminal organizations and smugglers are using large groups of families as diversions to exploit and profit from reduced border enforcement presence; and

WHEREAS, Members of Congress have filed legislation to designate drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations for their undermining of American national security with a relentless attack on our border while trafficking in human beings; and

WHEREAS, The President of the United States has declared the situation along the border a "crisis;" and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has consistently delayed meaningful action on border security, forcing Texas to expend significant resources to keep the international border with Mexico secure and placing an undue burden on the state's taxpayers; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate hereby expresses its dissatisfaction with the United States Congress' inadequate efforts to fully fund the operational security of the Texas-Mexico international border; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate calls upon the United States Congress to adopt a budget that fully funds all means necessary to fully secure the Texas-Mexico international border, including, but not limited to, deploying personnel, implementing effective technologies, and erecting barriers where needed; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate declares this crisis at the Texas-Mexico International Border an emergency; and, be it further

RESOLVED, The Texas Senate supports the President in his efforts to move forward with emergency action; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Texas Senate forward official copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the U.S. Senate, and to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and to all members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record.