Texas Republican lawmakers have proposed a tough stance on illegal border crossing by introducing a bill that, if passed, would make it a statewide felony, the Daily Mail reports.
“The final straw” was a recent incident in El Paso when a group of around 1,000 migrants broke through a port of entry.
The authors of the Border Protection Unit Act (“Border Protection Act”) point to a part of the US Constitution that refers to the power of states: “in case of invasion and imminent danger” – or, in their view, a significant number of immigrants coming through America’s southern border can and should be treated as an “invasion”.
The bill seeks to create a dedicated border police force and make illegal immigration a state felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
It should be recalled that the Republican Party has a majority in the Texas House and Senate, which makes the border security bill more likely to pass. If two-thirds of both houses agree, the law would immediately go into effect on September 01 this year.
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