AUSTIN, Texas — Members of the Texas House worked overnight Wednesday to advance several border-related bills. One of Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priorities for the third special legislative session is to pump more money into his border security initiative, Operation Lone Star (OLS). It’s already a multibillion-dollar project, and he’s tasked the Legislature with putting more money into it.
One bill would put another $1.5 billion toward border wall construction.
“The wall is one part of the larger OLS strategy and one that will greatly leverage the efforts of federal, state, and local boots on the ground, and ultimately reduce reliance on human resources,” said Rep. Jacey Jetton, R-Richmond.
Democrats say the wall and razor wire don’t stop migrants from coming to America for a better life, and they don’t want to see more money put toward such barriers.
“That's just a waste, a waste of taxpayer dollars when we could be expanding Medicaid, we could be addressing the foster care system, we could be giving teachers a pay raise,” said Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston.
Another bill would increase penalties for human smuggling. Republicans say the intent is to deter such criminal activity. The current mandatory minimum sentence for human smuggling is two years, but the bill would increase it to 10 years.
“You have an Uber driver, who's picking up somebody who's undocumented, and they don't know they're undocumented — would they be convicted? Would they face a 10-year jail time?” Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, asked the bill’s author, Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City.
“Absolutely not,” Rep. Guillen said. “I mean, it would be very, very difficult to prosecute someone like that, who didn't know what they were doing.”
Democrats tried to make several changes to the bill but failed to sway Republicans.
A third bill would create a criminal offense for illegal entry into Texas. Supporters say it’s supposed to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande between legal ports of entry, but opponents say it’ll ruin a migrant’s American dream before they even get a chance.
“That is not the Texas way, and it sure as hell isn't the American way,” said Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston.
Despite the effort of Democrats, all three bills advanced out of the House. The anti-smuggling bill will head to Abbott’s desk to be signed into law. The other two bills will head to the Senate.