Border Security: An Interstate Compact for

By State Sen. Bob Hall The refusal of the federal government to protect our national borders and enforce federal immigration laws has facilitated the unnecessary loss of thousands of lives and millions of dollars in property. Our duty to compassion for human life is to require legal orderly entry into our country. By not enforcing this requirement we facilitate peril for our citizens and visitors hardship and misery for illegal aliens and an unsustainable fiscal burden on our society.  Sadly there is no indication that the federal government has any intention of securing our border so we can no longer ignore this situation and pretend that our society will absorb this lawlessness. We are paying a heavy price by allowing it to go unchecked. I lay out in this article a briefing of those calamities and the findings from experts who estimate that illegal aliens cost Texas taxpayers more than $12 billion in 2013 alone. Since the federal government has failed to meet its constitutionally mandated responsibility the Texas Legislature will be remiss in its obligation to protect the citizens of Texas if it does not step in to fill the void left by the federal government. I have therefore joined with a coalition of Texas legislatures to lead the effort in creating a Border Security Interstate Compact. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Mexican drug cartels terrorists international gangs human traffickers and numerous criminals are exploiting our porous border with black-market schemes which threaten our cities rural communities and businesses with physical violence and financial losses.

• The illegal alien-criminals have become militarized transnational and involved in highly organized international gangs. DPS reports that increasing numbers of terrorists and cartel members are entering our state undetected.
• The cartels have also expanded their organized crime into a multifaceted network of groups that perform deeds of murder extortion kidnapping human trafficking oil theft money laundering auto theft forced labor weapons smuggling and public corruption.
• Our inadequately defended border has drawn masses of people who have circumvented our legal immigration process and entered the country illegally.

This circumvention of our laws has fostered an egregious black market of human trafficking which exploits young children and threatens Texas families. Since the federal government has failed to do its job Texas has responded to these threats by deploying extra DPS officers supporting border agents with the Texas National Guard and by initiating various operations that target these types of crimes. And while we attempt to save Texas with these initiatives we are so far only responding to the dangers of our inadequately defended border. Were not preventing them by stopping these dangerous criminals at the border. If we stop these dangers we can also relieve Texans from the growing crime of identity theft. Allowing millions of illegal alien-criminals to enter and roam freely in our country fosters a black market for stolen identities creating serious problems for victims many of whom are children. The Center for Immigration Studies reports that childrens social security numbers (SSNs) are prime targets of identity thieves because their SSNs have no history and are rarely used until the children become young adults. Illegal alien-criminals use these stolen identities to lie to employers accrue credit card debt and swindle tax returns from the IRS leaving citizens to live with the consequences of unpaid taxes harassment from the IRS contradicting records that threaten healthcare benefits and any other criminal activity illegal aliens conducted under their identities.¹⁴ For example in 2014 federal agents uncovered a crime ring of illegal aliens headed by one Linda Avila who with the cooperation of some 1400 illegal aliens used stolen identities to file fraudulent claims to the IRS. Federal agencies reported that they swindled a total of $7.2 million in taxpayer funds from our government. Avila admitted her crimes the same week President Obama allowed some 5 million illegal aliens to avoid rightful deportation.³ And again in Texas a man was arrested because of criminal activity an illegal alien had conducted under the mans identity.¹ Our inadequately defended border has also facilitated a significant fiscal burden on Texans education social and healthcare systems. In 2013 alone illegal aliens cost Texans approximately $12.1 billion with $10.4 billion spent to provide education and healthcare services.² To stop illegal alien-criminals at the border Texas must have jurisdiction to enforce federal laws. Texas can obtain this authority through an interstate compact with at least one other state and the approval of the U.S. Congress. Article 1 Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution recognizes the authority of the states to create an interstate compact to be validated by Congress done so without the President. With Congress consent the compact will become federal law and grant participating states the right of relevant federal jurisdiction. This right will empower participating states to create new laws and enforce federal laws. Interstate compacts are not new. The states have created hundreds of interstate compacts since the founding of our nation.⁵ It is time for the Texas Legislature to accept its responsibility of protecting Texas citizens from the illegal alien-criminals and pass SB 1252 which will give the Governor the authority to develop and enter into a Border Security Interstate Compact.

1. Center for Immigration Studies Mortensen Robert W. (2009) Illegal but Not Undocumented: Identity Theft Document Fraud and Illegal Employment. http://cis.org/IdentityTheft
2. Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (January 2013) The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on Texans: A Report by Jack Martin Director of Special Projects. Fair Horizon Press 25 Massachusetts Avenue NW Suite 330 Washington DC 20001 www.fairus.org
3. Judicial Watch (2014) Obama Amnesty as Feds Bust Illegal Aliens That Got $7.2 Mil from IRS with Stolen IDs http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2014/12/obama-amnesty-feds-bust-illegal-aliens-got-7-2-mil-irs-stolen-ids/
4. The Hill U.S. Representative Gallegly Elton (2012) Fraud by Illegal Immigrants Destroying Childrens Lives. http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/223971-fraud-by-illegal-immigrants-destroying-childrens-lives
5. Read more about an interstate compact at:
   1. www.clearlaketeaparty.com
   2. Breit Bart News Sweet Chriss (2015) OIG Finds Illegals Stealing Dead Peoples SSNS Again. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/03/10/oig-finds-illegals-stealing-dead-peoples-ssns-again/