88R8190 TBO-F     By: Kolkhorst S.C.R. No. 23       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 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 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 invasion of 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 of border patrol agents and the deployment of   National Guard troops; 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 inability 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, 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 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 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 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.