Texas Tribune by Uriel J. García Oct. 25, 2023
Democrats fumed when Republicans tried to block more amendments on a bill that would create a new state crime for illegally crossing the border into Texas.The Texas House in the early morning hours Thursday approved three bills aimed at beefing up border security, one that would appropriate more than $1 billion for additional border barriers, one that would allow police officers to send back migrants to who cross the border illegally and another that would increase penalties for human smugglers.
Lawmakers spent hours debating the measures Wednesday and into Thursday morning. All three bills drew Democratic opposition, but the most contentious debate was House Bill 4, which would empower police officers to apprehend, arrest or send back migrants who cross the border illegally. Tempers flared when state Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, made a motion to block new amendments, a rare move used to end a debate sooner.
After that motion passed, House Speaker Dade Phelan called a break as members posed parliamentary inquiries about the motion and the House stood at ease for hours. When they returned, Phelan called for the dozens of pending amendments to be heard.
State Rep. Armando Lucio Walle, D-Houston, confronted Harris during a break, saying it’s unfair for Republicans to cut off debate when they’re proposing legislation that “hurts our community.”
“It hurts us to our bleep core,” Walle said, according to a video posted on social media. “And you don’t understand that, you don't live in our skin. And that’s what pisses me off.”
The measure eventually passed 84-60. It will now head to the Senate, where there's strong support for the GOP's border security agenda.
The package of bills continues the state’s recent push to deter illegal immigration at the Texas-Mexico border, which has been a priority for Gov. Greg Abbott. The state has spent billions, and lawmakers are proposing to spend $1.5 billion more, as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.
U.S. Border Patrol agents have had a historically high number of encounters with migrants on the southern border in recent years: 1.7 million in fiscal year 2021, a record topped the next year when agents recorded 2.2 million encounters. In fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, the number dropped slightly to 2 million encounters.
More:
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/25/texas-legislature-house-immigration-bills/
