Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, July 11, 2022.

– Brandon Waltens 

• Since  Joe Biden took office in January of last year, illegal immigration on the nation's southern border has surged.
   
• According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the numbers have hit record-breaking levels. In May, for example, CBP logged 239,416 encounters, with illegal migrants at the border, with even more going undetected.
   
• With 1,254 miles of border with Mexico, Texas bears the brunt of the issue, especially as the federal government has largely refused to return illegal aliens back across the border.

• With the federal government abdicating its responsibility, and courts disallowing states from enforcing immigration law, what is the state of Texas to do? A growing movement is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to declare the crisis at the border as an invasion in order to tackle it head on.
   

• Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution allows  states to repel an invasion themselves by utilizing their state guards. Declaring an invasion would also allow for governors to enter into an interstate compact to secure the border.
   

• The Republican Party of Texas recently called for the state to declare the surge as an invasion and defend its borders in the absence of federal action.
   

• While Abbott has yet to take that action, several Texas counties that have experienced the brutal reality of open borders are making moves of their own.
   

• Last week, representatives from several counties—including Kinney County, Zavala County, Uvalde County, Goliad County, and others—gathered in Brackettville to announce they were beginning the process of declaring the crisis an invasion on their own.
   

• “We don’t want to lose America. The Biden administration won’t do a thing to stop this. They could stop it now. They don’t have the guts, but they have a plan. Their plan is to keep bringing them in with open borders. If we keep our open borders, we’re not going to have a nation.” –Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan
   

• “We should declare an invasion. We should, as Texas, turn people away and do what is necessary to secure our communities because [we] support our communities." –U.S. Rep. Chip Roy

• At first, the announcement was met with silence from Abbott. Then, on Thursday, he issued an executive order authorizing the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety to “return” illegal immigrants to the border. 
   
• Notably, however, he stopped short of saying they should be sent back across, drawing criticism from border security proponents. 
   

• Ken Cuccinelli and Russ Vought of the Center for Renewing America, an organization that championed the proposal for border states to declare an invasion, said the order would do little to nothing to solve the issue.
   

• "No significant changes to current policy. This is still catch and release. … The Governor does not appear to formally declare an invasion nor direct the National Guard and Department of Public Safety to remove illegals across the border directly to Mexico. That is critical. Otherwise this is still catch and release." –Russ Vought and Ken Cuccinelli
   

• While Abbott has eschewed referring to the crisis as an invasion, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he has been calling it one for years. "We are being invaded, and if we’re being invaded, under the Constitution, I think that gives us the power to put hands on people and send them back.”

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.