Texas House passes 3 controversial immigration bills following heated debate
AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) -- A long and contentious debate at the Texas State Legislature that ran from Wednesday to Thursday ended with the House passing three controversial immigration bills.
Emotions ran high throughout the day, significantly when Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, heatedly responded during a face-to-face confrontation with Republican lawmakers. This came shortly after Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, made a motion to block new amendments to House Bill 4, a rare move used to end a debate early.
The exchange was captured in a video making its rounds on social media.
"It hurts us to our (expletive) core, and y'all don't understand that. Y'all don't live in our (expletive) skin," Walle is heard saying in the video.
Walle said things got personal for him the evening before because he thought of his family, friends, and community members as the bills were being debated.
"There's some raw emotions. But I don't regret it. It's something that I felt passionate about and it needed to be said because sometimes folks don't understand the plight of folks that look like me," Walle told ABC13. "To use the rules to silence the majority, I think that was problematic. When I feel that my community is being attacked, I'm not going to sit on my hands and not say anything."
RELATED: Texas Senate advances border bill that allows state police to arrest migrants at US-Mexico border
HB 4 is perhaps the most controversial of the three immigration bills being considered in the Texas special session. It would allow local and state police to arrest migrants they suspect are entering the country unlawfully, and take them back to ports of entry, and order them to leave.
ABC News analysts said this would likely spark major lawsuits and a possible international dispute with Mexico, which typically has to agree to accept migrants who are not citizens of their country.
The same proposed law would also make it a state crime to cross the border unlawfully. Advocates said the bill could conflict with federal law, which states that immigration enforcement is the job of the U.S. government, not Texas.
Republicans said their bill would allow state police to work alongside the feds, not as a hindrance.
"State laws are preempted when they conflict with federal law, including when they stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress. House Bill 4 goes to great lengths to avoid that," Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, said in Wednesday's debate.
As far as the other two bills, House Bill 6 would set aside $1.5 billion for additional border wall construction. Critics argue that $5 billion has already been spent on border security and spending more funds would not be a wise use of taxpayer money.
Senate Bill 4 would enhance the penalty for anyone convicted of human smuggling to a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. Opponents worry the definition of human smuggling is vague and could be used to criminalize people who are simply giving a family or friend a ride, who may be undocumented.
RELATED: Immigration advocates concerned about 'vague language' in bill enhancing human smuggling penalties
The proposed legislation excludes family members through the third degree of consanguinity. Democrats attempted to widen the scope of that provision to include more relatives, but it failed.
"The problem is many people have mixed families. We have uncles, aunties, nieces, and nephews who are within the fourth degree. So if I, as a U.S. citizen, am with one of them who may or may not be undocumented, I can get charged with human smuggling because they're in my car," Walle said.
ABC13 contacted about two dozen Republican lawmakers who are co-authors on the bills. They have yet to respond or accept our request for an interview.
Walle said he expects these three bills to pass in the Senate and ultimately become Texas law.
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