Republican lawmakers in Texas are proposing legislation that would make it a state felony to cross the border from Mexico illegally and create a new border police force.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, said in a statement that"addressing our state's border and humanitarian crisis" was a priority. Phelan said the proposed border police as well as a proposed Legislative Border Safety Oversight Committee, which would provide border safety policy recommendations and oversight to the new policing unit and work on issues in South Texas, were a"must-pass issue.
That proposal was signed into law and but was later challenged in court and is pending a resolution, according to Alexis Bay, legislative coordinator with the Beyond Borders at the Texas Civil Rights Project. Bay said the powers and immunity that would be conveyed to private citizens serving on the proposed border force is unlike anything seen in recent Texas history.
"It is designed to create racial profiling," Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa told The Associated Press on Monday."Something that is just horrendous." A spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency does not comment on pending legislation.Authorities said Sunday thatCopyright Associated Press
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