By: Kolkhorst S.C.R. No. 23       SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION   WHEREAS, The State of Texas and the United States federal   government have 1,254 miles of land to protect along Texas' border   with Mexico, a job that has become increasingly violent as this   state has been subjected to an invasion by foreign drug cartels; 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, 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 acted 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 other   weapons, all related to the invasion of foreign drug cartels; and          WHEREAS, Texas has repeatedly asked the federal government to   send more border security resources to the state, requesting an   increase in manpower and authority for border patrol agents and   other federal personnel; and          WHEREAS, Texas prisons house 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 federal government's failure to develop a   comprehensive plan to address this border security problem puts an   unfair and unreasonable burden on the entire state, especially on   Texas border communities, in violation of Article IV, Section 4 of   the United States Constitution; and          WHEREAS, Under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 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 invasion; this constitutional authority 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"; and          WHEREAS, The governor, in a letter to the president of the   United States on November 16, 2022, invoked the authority under   Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, to protect   the State of Texas; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby demand 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 the   State of Texas has been invaded by foreign drug cartels and that the   citizens of this state are in imminent danger of irreparable harm;   and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature hereby encourage all   applicable state and local resources as needed, to use any and all   authority under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the United States   Constitution to repel this violent foreign drug cartel invasion,   and that such authority should be invoked with the intention of   utilizing such authority in the most peaceful manner possible   consistent with bringing this invasion to a conclusion at the   earliest possible moment.