State Senator Lois Kolkhorst has filed a sweeping legislative package aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Texas.

State Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) speaks at
a legislative forum in Brenham on August 13, 2019.In a release announcing the legislation, Kolkhorst said she has filed three bills and a concurrent resolution which are meant to address fentanyl trafficking, enhance offenses for unauthorized immigrants who commit crimes, ensure Texas workers are legally authorized to work in the United States, and “declare to the federal government that Texas has been invaded by foreign drug cartels.”

Senate Bill 1620 enhances the state penalties of crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants in the course of unlawfully entering the United States.

Senate Bill 1621 requires local governments, state contractors, and private employers in Texas to participate in E-Verify, a federal system to ensure workers are legally authorized to work in the United States. Texas state agencies have been required to comply since 2015.

Senate Bill 1622 creates the new offense of the manufacture or delivery of fentanyl to a person who later dies. The offense will be classified as a first degree felony, which is punishable by life or 5 to 99 years in a Texas state prison.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 23 declares that the State of Texas has been invaded and calls on the federal government to declare foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and Texas citizens are in danger of irreparable harm.

Kolkhorst said the state is spending billions of dollars per biennium to secure the border, and these bills “are intended to enhance that effort with new tools.” She said, “Where the federal government is avoiding its responsibility, Texas will fulfill its constitutional duty to protect our citizens, property, and border.”

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