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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of a criminal offense for illegal entry |
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into Texas from Mexico by persons who are not citizens or legal |
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permanent residents of the United States. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. The legislature finds that: |
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(1) Mexican drug cartels are designated as foreign |
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terrorist organizations in Executive Order GA-42 because they have |
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trafficked hundreds of millions of lethal doses of fentanyl into |
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Texas since 2021; |
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(2) to fund this deadly violence, Mexican drug cartels |
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have smuggled aliens across the Texas-Mexico border at a |
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record-setting pace under President Biden's open-border policies; |
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(3) this unprecedented surge of illegal immigration |
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has been a declared disaster for Texans since May 31, 2021; |
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(4) although an alien commits a federal crime under 8 |
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U.S.C. 1325(a)(1) and its implementing regulations by entering the |
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United States at any time or place other than a federally designated |
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port of entry, President Biden has ignored repeated demands for |
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aggressive prosecution of these illegal-entry offenses by the U.S. |
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Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice; |
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(5) President Biden's refusal to faithfully execute 8 |
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U.S.C. 1325(a)(1) and other immigration laws enacted by Congress |
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has broken the federal government's promise to "protect each |
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[State] against Invasion" under Section 4, Article IV, United |
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States Constitution; |
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(6) this federal dereliction of duty has compelled |
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Texas to protect its own border against invasion by Mexican drug |
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cartels, using the sovereign powers reserved to the States; |
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(7) as "Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of |
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the State," the Governor has the power to "call forth the militia to |
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execute the laws of the State" and "repel invasions" under Section |
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7, Article IV, Texas Constitution; and |
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(8) the Governor can protect Texans from cartel |
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violence and defend the State's territorial integrity by enforcing |
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a state-law version of the illegal-entry offense that President |
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Biden has refused to use under 8 U.S.C. 1325(a)(1). |
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SECTION 2. Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Chapter 51 to read as follows: |
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Chapter 51. ILLEGAL ENTRY |
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Sec. 51.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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(1) "Person" means any individual other than a citizen |
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or legal permanent resident of the United States. |
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(2) "Port of entry" has the same meaning assigned to |
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that term by Section 101.1, Title 19, Federal Code of Regulations. |
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Sec. 51.02. ILLEGAL ENTRY. (a) A person commits an offense |
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if the person enters or attempts to enter the State of Texas by |
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crossing its border with Mexico at any time or place other than at a |
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port of entry. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if |
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it is shown at the trial of the offense that the defendant has been |
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previously convicted of an offense under this section. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
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the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |