BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

H.B. 1832

By: Gerdes

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, in fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested 17,048 individuals nationwide who were aliens convicted of one or more crimes, whether in the United States or abroad, prior to the border patrol's interdiction. Furthermore, the website indicates that almost 48 percent of those convictions were for an offense other than entry or reentry. The bill author has informed the committee that while the legislature enacted S.B. 4 in 2023, which imposed penalties for illegally entering or reentering Texas, insufficient consideration was provided for instances in which those illegally entering or reentering have previously been convicted of an offense. H.B. 1832 seeks to address this issue by revising Penal Code provisions to increase the penalties for illegal entry and reentry for those with prior criminal charges.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

H.B. 1832 amends the Penal Code to revise penalties for certain criminal offenses involving illegal entry into or illegal presence in Texas by a person who is an alien.

 

Illegal Entry From Foreign Nation

 

H.B. 1832 enhances from a Class B misdemeanor to a state jail felony the penalty for illegal entry from a foreign nation if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of any of the following offenses:

·         any of the intoxication and alcoholic beverage offenses under the Penal Code, other than public intoxication or possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle;

·         an offense under the laws of another state or foreign country involving an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of such a Penal Code offense; or

·         an offense involving drugs or crimes against a person.

 

Illegal Reentry by Certain Aliens

 

H.B. 1832 does the following in regard to the existing enhancement of the penalty for illegal reentry by certain aliens from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony if the defendant's removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of two or more misdemeanors involving drugs or crimes against a person:

·         changes the number of applicable misdemeanors that trigger this third degree felony enhancement to one or two and creates a new enhancement to a second degree felony if the number is three or more; and

·         includes the following among the applicable misdemeanors:

o   a misdemeanor intoxication and alcoholic beverage offense under the Penal Code, other than public intoxication or possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle; and

o   a misdemeanor under the laws of another state or foreign country involving an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of such a Penal Code offense.

 

H.B. 1832 increases the penalty enhancement for illegal reentry by certain aliens for a defendant whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for the commission of a felony from a second degree felony to a first degree felony if the prior felony offense was an offense against the person under the Penal Code or an offense under the laws of another state or foreign country involving an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of such a Penal Code offense.

 

Refusal to Comply With Order to Return to Foreign Nation

 

H.B. 1832 enhances the penalty for refusal to comply with an order to return to a foreign nation from a second degree felony to a first degree felony if the offense that is the subject of the charge or conviction on which the return order is based is an offense of illegal reentry by certain aliens for which the penalty is enhanced to a first degree felony as provided by the bill.

 

Applicability

 

H.B. 1832 applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2025.