Posted on 03/04/2011 7:52:29 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
AUSTIN — The Department of Public Safety would be given the power to establish driver's license and insurance checkpoints along state roads as part of a broader border security bill introduced Thursday.
The checkpoint provision is part of a bill that supporters say would crack down on drug cartels and human smuggling rings operating in Texas.
It would require that every person booked into prison in Texas have their citizenship checked. It also would increase criminal penalties for gang and cartel members and increase fines for drug crimes.
“We want to have a package that's focused on solving our unique situation here in Texas,” said state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, who chairs the Senate committee on transportation and homeland security.
DPS officials have asked for the power to do checkpoints, claiming it's necessary to help disrupt the operations of drug cartels and human smugglers; however, legislation has failed because it usually was enveloped by political controversy.
“This bill has several provisions that appear to require state and local law officers to enforce federal immigration laws, which invites discrimination against citizens of Hispanic descent and legal immigrants,” said state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio.
Williams defended the proposal and said it would help reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road and would give officers an additional chance at stopping illegal activity.
“There are actually local jurisdictions that do this,” Williams said.
He said agencies would still have to have probable cause to search vehicles and that current policy had “unnecessarily restrained the Department of Public Safety.”
Other Democrats voiced concern that the bill might become a vehicle for legislation from conservative House Republicans that would provide for an Arizona-style crackdown on illegal immigrants.
“What concerns me is that any omnibus bill can become a vehicle for other things which I would not support,” said Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville. “I would hate to see his bill amended to include Arizona-style legislation.”
The bill includes new requirements that would mandate that local law enforcement organizations check the citizenship status of everyone booked into prison. It also would require that state prisons officials keep a count of the number of illegal immigrants in state prisons.
“It's an expensive proposition — we think it could be as high as $200 million,” Williams said of the cost to house illegal immigrants in state prisons. “Because there's not a census being taken, it's very difficult to know how good that number is.”
I support them. If only Texas had DWI checkpoints. We are one of about 10 states that do not allow for DWI checkpoints. As a result our per capita DWI fatality rate is the highest in the nation.
I know I will get flamed for this viewpoint, but whatever. This article is about checkpoints for illegals.
So someone tell me; if DWI checkpoints are bad, then are these immigration checkpoints bad as well?
Discuss...
Secure the border and require valid papers for work...
Mike
When are they going to go to landscaping, construction, fast food restaurants...places like this and do a checkpoint for illegals??? That’s where they are....cutting grass and washing dishes in the back.
what’s the early betting line that the same SCOTUS which found DUI checkpoints to be totally kosher is going to have some kind of problem with immigration checkpoints?
“Secure the border and require valid papers for work...”
I agree. I don’t fear checkpoints, but I find them creepy from a constitutional viewpoint.
The state of Texas needs to create a branch of the DPS empowered to enter businesses suspected of employing illegals and inspect the verification paperwork. You know allot of that will be found to have been faked-up.
However, the illegal alien employer lobby in Texas is very powerful and I suspect this kind of enforcement to be politically unattainable.
The best bill put forward on this is Rep Debbie Riddles’ HB 1202 - Relating to the creation of the offense of employing or contracting with an unauthorized alien. IMHO many RINO Texas reps from urban districts have been bought by the big illegal alien employers like fast food and restaurant franchises. That spells doom for Riddle’s bill. It will “mysteriously” die in committee or fail on the floor. If it miraculously passes RINO Rick will prolly not sign it. He’ll go out later to a wine and cheese reception with his illegal alien employer friends.
Texas RINOS talk tough on border security but when the rubber meets the road they run away. Any law that will allow for the REAL detaining and expelling illegals will not survive, because they want to keep the pool of cheap labor, in Texas, large.
Just my opinion.
I'm sorry, but the basic problem with your suggestion is that it doesn't increase government power over the serfs. That is not the goal of legislatgion like this. The goal is to increase power and revenue coming in to government coffers.
Ping!
All checkpoints are wrong. It doesn’t matter what the reason. We all have the right to travel freely within our country. Its a Democracy. Being asked to show your papers is what they do in Russia etc. In a free country you always err on the side of freedom.
Yep. Driving on the road in no way gives any sort of probable cause to suspect anything, whether its being in the country illegally, or under any kind of influence. If they’re swerving across the lanes, or running lights, that’s one thing.. but checkpoints are not Constitutional.
Pay the fine, pay the impound fee's and go back to your lives a lot lighter in the wallet.
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