Border, Election Security Top Texas GOP Legislative Priority List

The Texas GOP named border enforcement its top legislative priority and called on Texas to defy the federal government if necessary to protect Texans.

Securing elections was ranked second behind the border. Stopping the sexualization of children rounded out the top three priorities.

Other priorities were: no Democratic chair appointments, banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, securing the electric grid, banning the sale of property to China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and their proxies, and ending federal overreach such as mandatory kill switches in vehicles and medical freedom for Texans surrounding vaccines.

The legislative priorities are for the 89th Legislative session beginning in January of 2025.

Border enforcement was the main issue, which was also reflected in resolutions passed by convention delegates. Some 7,400 were registered to attend the event.

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Republicans passed a resolution for Gov. Greg Abbott, state law enforcement, and the state judiciary to enforce Senate Bill 4 “without paying heed to any stays or opinions of the federal judiciary or other branch of federal government to the contrary.”

SB 4 was scheduled to go into effect on March 5 but was put on hold after the Biden administration and nonprofit organizations sued.

Illegal immigrants who enter Texas outside legal ports of entry can be arrested on Class B misdemeanor charges and sentenced to up to six months in jail under SB 4. However, repeat offenders could face second-degree felony charges and sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

The U.S. Supreme Court briefly allowed the law to go into effect after sending it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The appeals court then halted enforcement while it considered the latest appeal.

The GOP wants legislation in 2025 on border enforcement would include prohibiting “individuals, corporations, nonprofits, governments, and social media entities from assisting or inciting illegal entry” with fines and jail time.

State GOP members want businesses to use the E-Verify system to verify employees’ work status eligibility and pay fines if they don’t. Both the Senate and House introduced similar legislation to compel the use of E-Verify in 2023, but they stalled without a full vote.

Subsidized public services would be canceled for illegal immigrants, such as in-state college tuition and enrollment in public schools, which critics say has cost states millions of taxpayer dollars.

Texas Republicans also want to see the creation of a Texas Department of Homeland Security to prevent illegal entry and conduct deportations.

Republicans passed another resolution calling for the legislation to require proof of citizenship for new voter registrations and a review of existing voter rolls to identify and remove noncitizens.

Yet a third resolution involving border security called on Congress to stop sending money to Ukraine and allocate those resources to deport illegal aliens and securing the U.S. southern border.

Top Priorities

The Texas GOP has focused on election security after the 2020 presidential election. Many Republican-dominated states began passing legislation to update voter rolls and limit or eliminate mail-in voting and require voter ID.

Mr. Abbott spent a sizable amount of political capital supporting primary opponents of Republicans who voted against school choice in 2023.

Republicans held an 84–66 majority in the state House of Representatives, but the school choice bill died after some Republicans joined with Democrats to vote against it.

This year a total of 15 House Republicans have lost to challengers either in primaries in March or in the runoffs, which Mr. Abbott believes is enough to pass school choice in 2025.