A Texas congressman’s bill, introduced prior to the recent Supreme Court ruling against the state, would allow Texas to protect the southern border and be reimbursed by the federal government for funds spent.
Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) introduced the State of Texas Operational Protections Act, also known as the “STOP Act,” last week, according to a Tuesday news release.
This bill would permit Texas to perform operations along areas of the border, including the implementation of “physical barriers, increased law enforcement presence, surveillance technologies, and other measures deemed necessary to enhance border security and stop illegal crossings.”
Additionally, the Texas Department of Public Safety would be authorized to submit requests for reimbursement to the federal government to help pay for the actions taken by the state.
The bill’s text states that the lack of protection at the southern border poses a “significant threat to the safety and security of the State’s residents,” resulting in Texas being forced to “continually appropriate funds and provide protections to secure the southern border of the United States.”
Williams has criticized the Biden administration for its lack of action at the border, claiming that the president and his officials “remain unphased” as the crisis worsens.
“This is simple common sense legislation to put the safety and wellbeing of Americans first,” declared the congressman in the January 23 release.
“Texas policies and initiatives work, but Texans can’t afford to wait on Biden to take this crisis seriously and secure our border. If the federal government refuses to take action, Texans must be allowed to protect our communities from this invasion on American soil.”
David Coale, a constitutional law expert, said this bill could help Texas get around the plethora of lawsuits between the state and federal government.
“By and large, the Biden administration has been successful in court, arguing that Texas’ more aggressive efforts to enforce border security run afoul of federal preemption; they go into areas that are exclusively federal in our government that states can’t go into,” he said, per NBC 5 DFW.
However, Coale said that the power of the purse, which belongs to Congress, could pose constitutional issues with the proposed bill.
“Appropriation, as customarily understood, means Congress says, ‘Here’s the goal and here’s the money to go carry that out.’ This is kind of an end run around that,” he said, per NBC 5.
This legislation proposal comes as Texas continues to fight the federal government in several lawsuits, including battles over concertina wire along the border and a floating barrier in the Rio Grande meant to deter unlawful migrants.
The most recent development in these cases came on Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court vacated an injunction preventing federal agents from cutting the concertina wire, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
By vacating the injunction, SCOTUS seemingly sided with the federal government and will allow agents to cut the wire for the time being.
The appeal process for this case is ongoing, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on February 7.
