[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 50 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 50
Recognizing that article I, section 10 of the United States
Constitution explicitly reserves to the States the sovereign power to
repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from the overwhelming and
``imminent danger'' posed by paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels,
terrorists and criminal actors who have seized control of our southern
border.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 20, 2023
Mr. Arrington (for himself, Mr. Babin, Mr. Banks, Mr. Gooden of Texas,
Mr. Burgess, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Weber of Texas) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing that article I, section 10 of the United States
Constitution explicitly reserves to the States the sovereign power to
repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from the overwhelming and
``imminent danger'' posed by paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels,
terrorists and criminal actors who have seized control of our southern
border.
Whereas the Preamble to the United States Constitution outlines the chief
responsibility of the Federal Government is to ``insure domestic
tranquility'' and ``provide for the common defense'';
Whereas article IV, section 4 of the United States Constitution clearly states
``The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against
Invasion'';
Whereas President Biden has continuously failed to uphold his oath and fulfill
his constitutional duty to ``faithfully execute'' the laws of the land;
Whereas, since President Biden took office, we have seen recordbreaking
apprehensions at the southern border;
Whereas monthly apprehensions have exceeded 200,000 for numerous months and
continue to increase month over month, eclipsing all-time records for
apprehensions at the southern border;
Whereas border States spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on the
provision of healthcare, housing, education, and other services for
illegal aliens;
Whereas those being apprehended have come from over 160 nations, including many
individuals on the terrorist watch list;
Whereas thousands of criminal offenses have been committed by illegal
immigrants, including assault, homicide, illegal drug and contraband
possession, trafficking, and sexual offenses;
Whereas criminal offenses committed by illegal immigrants have increased one
hundred plus percent year over year;
Whereas arrests of illegal immigrants convicted of sex offenses has increased
one thousand plus percent year over year according to Customs and Border
Protection;
Whereas authorities have seized thousands of pounds of fentanyl--enough to kill
every American multiple times over;
Whereas the United States has a drug epidemic whereby tens of thousands of
Americans die every year and a little less than 100 percent of drugs,
including heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine, are smuggled
across the southern border;
Whereas migrant women and children, who represent an increasing number of
crossings and face a high risk of sexual assault and trafficking, are
abused, raped, tortured, enslaved and trafficked as a result of the
Biden administration's failure to secure our southern Border;
Whereas attempted crossings by, and apprehensions of, illegal immigrant
criminals on the FBI's terror watchlist have increased exponentially
year over year, and even more illegal immigrant criminals and terrorists
may have slipped across the border without detection--the ``gotaways'';
Whereas cartels act as paramilitary, narco-terrorist organizations that profit
from trafficking people and drugs across the southern border into the
United States;
Whereas Customs and Border Protection agents have confirmed that cartels
facilitate and profit from virtually every illegal border crossing;
Whereas the Biden administration has repeatedly removed effective measures that
have reduced illegal immigration and secured the border, including
Migrant Protection Protocols policy, remain in Mexico, a halt on border
wall construction, a reinstatement of ``catch and release'', a weakening
of asylum requirements, and countless other policy decisions that
encourage a disregard for our laws and sovereignty and embolden cartels;
Whereas States along our southern border--Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
California--are forced to spend billions of their own taxpayer dollars
to address and combat the devastation resulting from an unsecured
southern border;
Whereas State and local law enforcement entities are overwhelmed by dangerous
criminal activities associated with illegal border crossings, putting
officers and their communities in danger while draining local resources;
and
Whereas the quality of life and security of communities in border States, along
with every other State in the U.S., are being threatened, including
ranchers suffering from stolen and damaged property, healthcare
providers with strained capacity, and educators struggling to absorb the
high volume of migrant children in classrooms: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) declares and finds as a matter of fact any State within
the United States has the sovereign right to exclude from the
sovereign's territory any person who does not have the right to
be there;
(2) declares and finds as a matter of fact the States at
our southern border, including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
California, are being invaded or are in such imminent danger
from paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels, terrorists and
criminal actors as will not admit delay as stated in article I,
section 10 of the United States Constitution and those States
have the sovereign and unilateral authority pursuant to article
I, section 10 of the United States Constitution to defend
themselves against the invasion or imminent danger by
paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels, terrorists and criminal
actors;
(3) declares and finds as a matter of fact the United
States has failed to protect the aforementioned States at our
southern border against invasion pursuant to article IV,
section 4 of the United States Constitution or to ``ensure
domestic tranquility'', ``provide for the common defense'', and
``execute the laws'' of the United States; and
(4) declares and finds as a matter of fact the Biden
administration has failed to faithfully execute the laws of the
United States and to defend and protect the aforementioned
States on the southern border against invasion or imminent
danger.
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