Statement on Senator Birdwell's Amendments to the Border Bill
The Texas Nationalist Movement condemned State Senator Brian Birdwell's changes to House Bill 4, which it said surrendered Texas's authority over its own border to the federal government.
The changes State Senator Brian Birdwell made to House Bill 4 are a betrayal of the Texans who have demanded decisive action on border security. What began as a strong stand against illegal re-entry was rewritten into deference to federal authority.
Birdwell's amendments hand border control back to federal jurisdiction. By requiring a conviction before a removal can be ordered, they trade a proactive Texas response for a reactive one that waits on the federal system, the same system that has failed Texans again and again. The downgraded penalties and the reliance on federal border policy reveal a legislature without the backbone to act on its own.
This is not the Texas we envision. The reworked bill departs from the principles of autonomy and self-government we hold dear, and it underscores the need for robust, state-led action to secure the border.
Birdwell appears to have picked a side on TEXIT, and it is the wrong one. The Texas Nationalist Movement will continue to champion legislation that upholds Texas's authority and the safety of its citizens, because the only way to truly secure our border is to govern ourselves as an independent nation.
TNM Communications Office · media@thetnm.org · 800-662-1836
The Texas Nationalist Movement is the largest organization working to put a single question to the people of Texas in a binding, up-or-down vote: whether Texas should govern itself as an independent nation. 635,352 Texans across all 254 counties are on record in support. Learn more at tnm.me.