Driving the news: House Bill 4 would make it a criminal offense to enter Texas illegally from another country and would authorize all licensed peace officers to remove immigrants who do so.
Zoom out: Lawmakers in the state’s House of Representatives debated on border motions through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
- Democrats in the House said the measure would be a new criminal enforcement regime that targets the Hispanic community.
- “My community is being attacked,” state Rep. Armando Walle, a Latino Democrat, said to his Republican colleagues, per a video shared on social media. “It hurts us personally. Y’all don’t understand.”
Of note: The House also approved $1.5 billion in funding to construct the state’s own border wall.
Where it stands: The bill will now be voted on in the state Senate, which had previously approved its own version of the measure. It will then go to Abbott for his signature.