AUSTIN, TX - In a move to enhance border security for the state of Texas, legislators have passed three bills focused on that very need.
Last week, the House of Representatives moved to pass legislation that would foster a stronger border in dealing with illegal immigrants.
Each piece of legislation dealt with specific remedies to counter the growing threat of unchecked border control.
House Bill 4 gave local law enforcement a greater range in arresting and deporting illegals that they come across. Another bill dealt with human trafficking by increasing sentences of those caught in the act. Finally, in helping to expand border barriers, the last legislative bill would set aside $1 billion for the construction of barriers where needed.
The votes for the legislation went along party lines. Each bill that was passed was met with Democrat opposition. It was House Bill 4 that drew the ire of Democrats the most intensely.
Representative Cody Harris of Palestine, Texas made the unusual move to end any debates early with a motion to block new amendments. This was seen by Democrats as an unfair decision.
This did not last long, however, as house Speaker Dade Phelan called for a recess to allow further parliamentary inquiries to progress.
The most contentious bill, HB4, would increase the consequences of human smuggling to a 10-year prison sentence at minimum. It also enhanced the penalty of operating a Stash House to a five-year minimum sentence.
Despite a number of attempted amendments to this particular bill, the sponsor reiterated that the definition for smuggling would not be altered, but rather just the sentencing guidelines. By doing this, it was felt that the occcurence human smuggling would be lessened.
To show a humane good faith effort by Republicans, it was allowed for a provision that those transporting family members would have sentences lessened to five years.
Democrat legislators wanted the expansion of third and fourth degree family members to be part of that provision. However, as it stands, it only focuses on child, parent, or grandparent conditions.
State representative Mary Ann Perez of Houston noted, “Many Latinx families rely heavily on extended family members including cousins, uncles, and aunts. This means first that cousins act more like a sibling, for instance, relying on each other for rides to and from work and to medical appointments."
Early on in the discussion and debates over the new immigration laws, emotions were high.
Houston Democrat Armando Walle did not hold back his feelings as he debated with a few Republicans over HB4. Walle, himself of Latin heritage, did not waste words by addressing Republicans that the measure was a huge waste of taxpayer monies. He also said the measure was anti-immigrant.
"I was explaining to my colleagues on the floor the net effect of passing a motion to cut off debate excludes the voices like those in my community," he said.
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