Drama delays homeland security legislation

After objection raised, hours of contentious debate, sponsor pulls it from consideration.

By Juan Castillo

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Friday, May 04, 2007

After four hours of highly charged debate, legislation giving Gov. Rick Perry control of homeland and border security strategy moved back to a House committee late Thursday at the request of its sponsor, who tearfully told legislators they disappointed him.

"This is stupid. I'm ashamed of this House," Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, said on the House floor, moments before moving to recommit his House Bill 13 to the State Affairs Committee, which he chairs.

As Republican Rep. David Swinford of Dumas, center, details his border security legislation, Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, inspects a state map outlining security threats. Swinford's bill was derailed by a point of order raised late in the session.

The stunning turn of events unfolded after Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, raised a point of order challenging the bill's analysis.

House Speaker Tom Craddick upheld the objection, then took the highly unusual step of moving to suspend rules and continue debate, "as a courtesy to every member of this floor."

"We continue to waste members' time," said Craddick, R-Midland, who criticized Herrero for rasing his objection after four hours of contentious debate.

Herrero said he raised the point of order as quickly as possible after discovering it.

Before a vote was taken, Swinford pulled it from consideration.

"This is important," Swinford said of the sweeping proposal that also would dedicate $100 million for the governor's border security efforts. "We cannot let the drug lords to dominate the state as they have been."

Members gave Swinford a standing ovation.

House Bill 13 could be back up for consideration next week, but Craddick expressed concern that time is running out this session.

The sweeping legislation also would move a controversial law enforcement database with information on more than 1 million Texans out of Perry's office and into the Texas Department of Public Safety, though it would still be accountable to the governor's State Office of Homeland Security.

House Bill 13 also addresses local law enforcement and municipal and county immigration policies.

Supporters said the bill would protect all Texans from growing threats posed by criminal cartels and gangs who traffic humans and massive amounts of drugs across a porous border and into far reaches of the state.

"The border is not just on the river," Swinford said.

Swinford told reporters earlier that more than $1 billion in drugs and cash has been seized in Texas since April 2006.

The traffickers "didn't even bat an eye," he said. "It's not even a percentage of their business."

But opponents, though stressing that border security is vital, attacked the legislation for putting a political office in charge of intelligence gathering and law enforcement operations.

"We, as a legislature, are expected to give this office $100 million plus the authority to develop, administer and execute activities that should be placed under a law enforcement agency such as the Texas Department of Public Safety," said Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston. "That does not make sense to me."

Critics also were troubled by provisions that they contend would drag state and local police and governing bodies into the business of civil immigration enforcement, a role historically reserved for the federal government. Among the sticking points was a provision requiring local police to report federal crimes.

Swinford repeatedly insisted that it was never his intent to blur enforcement responsibilities and that his legislation merely tries to clarify what local law enforcement agencies can and cannot do.

He said Thursday that he believed a revision approved earlier in the week allayed concerns because it specifies that local and state police are authorized to arrest illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a felony in the United States and deported, or left the U.S. after the conviction.

"This bill is not about immigration. It's about border security," Swinford said.

Criticism that House Bill 13 overstepped state authority was particularly noteworthy because Swinford said in March that he would let most Republican-led proposals targeting illegal immigration die in his committee because they are pre-empted by federal law or are unconstitutional and wouldn't withstand court challenges.

Swinford said that though he agreed with some of the bills, he had to do what's right.

The legislation would create a Border Security Council whose members, appointed by the governor, would advise the homeland security office on how border security money is allocated and used. Critics said the governor would essentially decide who gets the money.

The council would recommend performance standards, reporting requirements and audit methods.

House Bill 13 is the vehicle for one of Perry's top priorities this session, his request for $100 million in state money to continue border security operations begun in 2005 mostly with federal money.

Perry has often credited his initiatives, with names like Operation Linebacker and most recently Operation Wrangler, with dramatically reducing crime. Perry's moves had shifted Texas Department of Public Safety officers and other state personnel and resources to troubled border areas to work with local officials.

Critics, however, contend that the efforts along the border produced only temporary reductions in crime and shifted problems elsewhere. A published report found that Operation Linebacker was far more effective detaining illegal immigrants than criminals during a six-month period in 2006.

jcastillo@statesman.com; 445-3635