HB9 appropriates approximately $1.8 billion for border security efforts. It devotes $750 million to construct an additional boarder barrier, as well as $450 million to increase the numbers of Texas National Guard and other law enforcement personnel at the border.
The House passed HB9 on August 30, 2021, by a vote 85 to 36. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has failed to secure the border, which it is obligated to do under Article IV, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution. As such, states can and should use their powers reserved under the 10th Amendment to address the crisis of illegal immigration and provide for their own public safety.