Border securityTexas lawmakers propose bills to bolster border security

On Monday, more than thirty Texas State House members joined local officials of border towns at the state Capitol to present their solutions to enhancing safety along the Texas border with Mexico. Three bills now being debated would add state police to the border, create a “DPS Officer Reserve Corps” using retired state troopers to assist police work like background investigations, toughen penalties for smugglers, build southbound checkpoints, and create a border protection unit.

“Rather than an on-again, off-again effort to fill the gap created by the federal government … we are here to create a consistent, permanent and thought-out effort that all Texans can count on,” said Representative Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), who authored one of the bills.

Critics are concerned with how the proposed measures would be funded and how they would affect other state and federal immigration and border security programs. “The price tag for my measure is incredibly low,” Bonnen said, without offering a dollar amount. He also insisted that the proposed measures are not meant to enforce immigration laws. “(Immigration) is a word we don’t use around here,” he said. “This is simply about securing our border. We don’t get into the issue of immigration.”

TheDallas Morning News notes that border security has proved to be an area of disagreement for the Legislature, with Texas governor Greg Abbott and the state Senate touting more aggressive solutions for border security. The Senate’s base budget outlines an $815 million spending plan for border security to fund current operations, new technology, additional troopers, and keeping the National Guard along the border. Abbott has proposed $735 million over the next two years to beef up the state Department of Public Safety’s forces, while also extending the National Guard’s stay along the border.

The House’s initial budget, by comparison, allocates $397 million over the next two years on border security. Under that budget, the National Guard deployment would end and some one-time expenses would not be repeated. The state can not “keep tripling and doubling” its border security spending plan, said House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio).

House members have not discussed how their planned border security measures would fit in the proposed House budget for border security, but officials said the House Appropriations Committee, after consulting with state agencies, would determine the plan’s cost. Representative John Otto (R-Dayton), who chairs that committee told reporters on Monday that the expense for the new proposal would likely be added to the House’s base budget for border security. “The House is committed to funding what is necessary to accomplish the goals that have been laid out,” he said.