By Bradley Melchor/ Sports Editor
Texas state legislators gathered at the Central Texas Council of Governments in Belton to discuss the ongoing events at the U.S.-Mexico border and the countermeasures being taken to combat the border security crisis with their constituents on Monday Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m.
The symposium was jointly hosted by congressmen John Carter (R-District 31) and August Plueger (R-District 11), with state representatives Hugh Shine (R-District 55), Ryan Guillen (R-District 31), David Spiller (R-District 68), State Senator Pete Flores (R-District 24) and Assistant District Attorney Nelson Barnes (District 452) appearing as guest speakers.
The representatives began the symposium by discussing legislation that they have authored to combat illegal immigration and human trafficking at the border. Guillen discussed his bill (House Bill 5) to increase the minimum penalty for human trafficking violations, while Spiller authored a bill (House Bill 4) that created offenses for illegal entry and re-entry into Texas. “This is the #1 issue for everyone in the State of Texas and the reason we are doing this symposium” said Shine. Barnes, who serves as the project director of Operation Lone Star and the Border Protection Unit, then discussed how Operation Lone Star is combatting this crisis.
Launched in response to an increase in illegal immigration in March 2021, Operation Lone Star was launched by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and is a joint security initiative between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department. The aim of the operation is to increase the presence of law enforcement in border counties along the Rio Grande, build barriers along the riverbanks and increase funding to the impacted rural areas.
The operation has become the focal point of the national media in recent months, with President Biden sending in federal agents to try and undo the efforts of OLS by taking down barriers in Eagle Pass. Despite the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Biden administration, Abbot has continued to build barbed wire barriers along the border, with Barnes promising to continue fighting the federal government in court.
“We are fighting that [decision] right and left in the state court. Eventually, we'll fight it in federal court,” Barnes exclaimed.
When asked what the state senate wants to see from the federal government, Texas Senate Flores stated;
“Very simply put, we say enforce the law. The President took the same constitutional oath that I did, and there’s nothing in there that says ‘I swear to uphold the laws of the United States… except for that one.’ He has to do his job and protect all of the United States, and he has not done that so far.”
photos by Allyson Hinkle/ Editor in Chief
