Gov. Greg Abbott will be in Brownsville on Monday at a border wall construction site, where he is expected to sign multiple border security bills passed during the special sessions into laws.
Abbott is expected to sign both Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 4 into law, which addressed the governor’s priority of border security during the special sessions.
Before the special sessions called by Abbott, the governor had stated that Texas lawmakers must “pass laws that will enhance the safety of all Texans by increasing funding for strategic border barriers and mirroring the federal immigration laws President Joe Biden refuses to enforce.”
During the December 18 signing event, Abbott will be joined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, National Border Patrol Council president Brandon Judd, Adjutant General of Texas Major General Thomas Suelzer, Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, bill authors and sponsors, legislative members, and other border officials, according to a press release sent to The Dallas Express.
These bills come amidst records-breaking numbers of unlawful migrants entering the state through the border.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez previously said this month that there were 12,000 encounters at the southern border with unlawful migrants in a single day, which would be a record-high number of encounters ever reported, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Texas Senate Bill 3, passed during the fourth special session, allocates $1.54 billion for constructing and managing the wall along the Texas-Mexico border.
Additionally, the bill provides $40 million for the Texas Department of Public Safety to help pay for overtime costs of state troopers, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Texas Senate Bill 4 was passed during the third special session and will make it a crime to unlawfully enter Texas while also allowing state law enforcement officers to apprehend those suspected of unlawful migration.
Abbott has expressed support for the bill multiple times, stating on social media after it was passed that it is “historic progress for border security,” and he is looking forward to officially signing it into law.
Despite the support from Abbott, others have presented concerns about the potential outcomes of the bill.
Gilberto Hinojosa, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, released a statement and spoke out against the legislation, stating that it is “anti-migrant, dangerous and unconstitutional.”
“This will not fix the real security issues along the southern border. This will not keep Texans safe. This will do nothing but rip families apart and overcrowd our prisons – which is what Texas Republicans do best,” added Hinojosa.