Texas Senate Passes House Bill To Create New State Border Police Force

A House bill that would create a new state border police force now has the approval of the Texas Senate. On Wednesday, senators approved House Bill 7, which would also make it illegal for migrants to enter the state anywhere but a port of entry and would create a mandatory minimum ten-year sentence for human smugglers. It would also spend 100-million-dollars on new detention centers, courts, security, and economic development for border communities. The bill tests the limits of a state's authority to enforce federal immigration law.