Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week criticized two immigration enforcement bills before the Texas state legislature that would expand the state’s ability to enforce immigration laws, a matter usually left to the US federal government. HRW stated that the bills would authorize Texas to deputize “state-sponsored vigilantes” and that they “are dangerous and extreme” due to a lack of proposed oversight.

Texas State Representative Matt Schaeffer introduced HB 20, known as the “Border Protection Unit Act,” in March. HB 20 would create a state-level immigration law enforcement unit whose chief would be authorized to employ US citizens to serve in the unit. Additionally, the bill shields officers and employees of the unit from all civil and criminal liability for actions authorized by the bill.

HRW says that Texas Governor Greg Abbot could, therefore, “deputize any ‘law-abiding’ citizen to serve in the unit, and thereby arrest, detain, and deter people from crossing the border between the United States and Mexico.”

HB 7 would create a “Border Protection Court Program” to hear cases regarding violations of Chapter 51 of the Texas Juvenile Justice Code, the Texas Penal Code and “related border issues.”

In response to the introduction of these bills, the senior advocacy manager for the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, Roberto Lopez, stated:

The new police force and court system would allow state politicians to continue arresting and sentencing some of the most vulnerable people in our society – people seeking refuge from violence, terror, and poverty – with no real oversight. This is a dangerous power grab offering no solution to the humanitarian emergency.

Statistics show that 2.4 million migrants attempted to cross the border from Mexico in 2022, and Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, in an exclusive statement to the Texas Tribune, was adamant that “Addressing our state’s border and humanitarian crisis is a must-pass issue for the Texas house this year.”