87S10558 CJM-D     By: Perry S.C.R. No. 1       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, The State of Texas and the United States federal   government are charged with protecting 1,254 miles of land along   Texas' border with Mexico, a job that has become increasingly   violent as this state has succumbed to a foreign drug   cartel-facilitated invasion; and          WHEREAS, These foreign drug cartels bring terror to Texas   communities by flooding the streets with deadly narcotics, forcing   women and children into human and sex trafficking, enriching   themselves on the misery and enslavement of Texans, and butchering   and murdering anyone who tries to stop them; and          WHEREAS, In fiscal year 2021, U.S. Customs and Border   Protection reports over 172,000 pounds of illegal narcotics have   been seized from foreign drug cartels in Texas; and          WHEREAS, Specifically, federal seizures of fentanyl in Texas   have dramatically increased by more than 750 percent this fiscal   year; and          WHEREAS, In fiscal year 2021, the U.S. Border Patrol has   already arrested more than 5,800 noncitizens that were determined   to have prior criminal records; and          WHEREAS, The Office of the Texas Attorney General estimates   that there are 234,000 victims of labor trafficking and 79,000   victims of youth and minor sex trafficking at any given time in   Texas; and          WHEREAS, State and local law enforcement agencies are forced   to contend with extensive and dangerous criminal activity resulting   from, or associated with, foreign drug cartels, thereby putting   Texas law enforcement officials in danger and draining resources   away from protecting our communities; and          WHEREAS, The State of Texas has attempted to address the   problem by adding hundreds of commissioned law enforcement officers   to the border, purchasing state-of-the-art helicopters, conducting   border security surge operations, and paying millions of dollars   for overtime, training, equipment, and technology for local law   enforcement; and          WHEREAS, Law enforcement agencies working together in Texas   have seized billions of dollars in illegal drugs and hundreds of   millions in cash, along with thousands of firearms and weapons, all   related to the foreign drug cartel-facilitated invasion; and          WHEREAS, Texas has repeatedly asked the federal government to   send more border security resources to the state, requesting an   increase in manpower of border patrol agents and the deployment of   National Guard troops; and          WHEREAS, Texas prisons house thousands of violent offenders   that claim foreign citizenship, and the state bears the cost of   housing and prosecuting those offenders; and          WHEREAS, Texas taxpayers have spent billions compensating   for the lack of federal resources provided to the state; and          WHEREAS, The unwillingness of the federal government to   develop a comprehensive plan that would address this border   security problem puts an unfair and unreasonable burden on the   entire state, but in particular on Texas border communities; and          WHEREAS, The federal government has failed to protect the   State of Texas from this foreign drug cartel-facilitated invasion   as required by Article IV, Section 4 of the United States   Constitution; and          WHEREAS, Under Article I, Section 10 of the United States   Constitution, Texas is entitled as a sovereign state of the United   States of America to protect itself against this current foreign   drug cartel-facilitated invasion, which grants the State of Texas   the power to defend the state when the state has been invaded, or is   "in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay"; now,   therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas,   1st Called Session, hereby respectfully request the federal   government to immediately declare violent foreign drug cartels as   foreign terrorist organizations under Section 219 of the   Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1189; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature hereby find that foreign   drug cartels have facilitated an invasion of the State of Texas and   that the citizens of this state are in danger of irreparable harm;   and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature hereby encourage the   Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department   to use any and all authority under Article I, Section 10 of the   United States Constitution to repel this violent foreign drug   cartel-facilitated invasion, and that such authority should be   invoked as the authorization for use of military force with the   intention of utilizing such authority in the most peaceful manner   possible consistent with bringing this facilitated invasion to a   conclusion at the earliest possible moment.