Our border security situation has troubled me for some time. While this is largely a federal issue, there are ways in which the states can and must act. I am pleased to report the Legislature took positive steps during this past legislative session to address key aspects of this problem.


The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 11, Governor Perry's border security initiative, which will provide over $100 million to protect and secure our borders where the federal government has failed to do so. The bill includes new resources to help fight crime, human trafficking and lawlessness on the Texas/Mexico border. Working closely with their federal counterparts, Texas peace officers will be better able to secure our border, which is one of my top priorities.


Key provisions in this legislation also include the creation of the Border Security Council to oversee the distribution of funds to border law enforcement agencies and the restructuring of the state's homeland security office in order to be more effective. Senate Bill 11 puts in place a package of reforms that will make Texas among the best-prepared of the states to deal with terrorism, natural disasters or other homeland security threats.


Fulfilling a pledge to my constituents, I took strong action against illegal document mills. With the strong help of Henry Garza, our district attorney, and Rick Miller, our county attorney, I authored and passed House Bill 126. This legislation will address the problems of both border security and identity theft by empowering prosecutors to combat large-scale document mills that operate as part of an organized criminal activity. These document mills provide the fraudulent identification papers which help illegal immigrants evade deportation and fraudulently obtain jobs and government benefits. Fake government documents are also used to facilitate numerous other crimes, ranging from credit card fraud to the smuggling of stolen vehicles.


House Bill 126 allows prosecutors to seek an enhanced penalty of one degree of severity if it is proven the crime of tampering with a governmental record was committed as part of an organized criminal activity. This legislation recognizes that the large-scale production of phony government documents has become an industry whose illegal profits can be measured in the billions, and it must be reined in.


I was also successful in adding an amendment to the state budget to direct our health and human services agencies to calculate and report the cost to the state of services provided to illegal immigrants. The collected data must include costs to Texas' local hospital districts, which are taxpayer-funded entities. The Harris County Hospital District alone estimates their costs to treat illegal immigrants exceeded $100 million last year, or about 13% of their entire operating budget.


This comprehensive report will be sent to our lawmakers in Washington, D.C., when it is completed. My goal is to spur federal action by showing in detail how much their inaction is costing the Texas taxpayer. Additionally, we need to know if there are American citizens waiting for services in Texas while non-citizens, in this country illegally, are obtaining them.


While I am proud the steps we took to protect and strengthen our border, I know there is more work to be done. I strongly supported the voter picture identification bill and worked to get it passed in the House, and was disappointed that a final vote was blocked in the Senate. I am committed to the passage of a strong voter security bill and will work during the interim for consensus in order to pass this legislation during the 81st Legislative Session.

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