Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, September 26, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

• 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, with over 2.1 million illegals being encountered this fiscal year, with one month left. In August,  CBP logged 203,598 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.

• At a recent conference on border security, Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith recently compared the border county to a “third-world country” and said, “We have got to start going on an offensive instead. We have got to start preventing crossings from occurring. The amount of money we’re spending is not securing the border; it’s basically trying to keep Texas alive. It’s not making it any better. It’s gotten worse.”
   
• Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan put it simply: "Border security is national security."
   
• 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 has officially called for the state to declare the surge as an invasion and defend its borders in the absence of federal action as part of its legislative priorities.
   

• While Gov. Abbott has so far declined to do so, a growing number of Texas counties that have experienced the brutal reality of open borders are making moves of their own.
   

• Since July, 31 Texas Counties have declared an invasion, calling on the governor to do the same.
   
• The counties include: Kinney, Goliad, Terrell, Parker, Wise, Edwards, Atascosa, Presidio, Tyler, Live Oak, Rockwall, Johnson, Wilson, Hardin, Chambers, Ellis, Orange, Liberty, Throckmorton, Madison, Jasper, Van Zandt, Wichita, Clay, Jack, Hunt, Montague, Hood, Wharton, Burnet, and Collin.

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.