Texas governor calls special session on school choice, border

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Friday that state legislators will return to the Capitol in Austin for a special session next week focusing on school choice and policy regarding the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I am bringing the Texas Legislature back for Special Session #3 to continue building on the achievements we accomplished during the 88th Regular Legislative Session and two special sessions this summer,” Abbott said in a statement. 

Specifically, Abbott said the session is intended to pass legislation that establishes education savings accounts for all Texas students, as well as a suite of legislation intended to support border law enforcement efforts.

“Texas will also pass laws to mirror the federal immigration laws President Joe Biden refuses to enforce that will reduce illegal immigration and enhance the safety of Texans,” Abbott said. “For the first time ever, Texas will subject people to arrest for illegal entry into our state from a foreign nation.”

The governor said a new law, which the session is intended to pass, would allow Texas state police to arrest undocumented immigrants with a maximum jail sentence of 20 years. 

Border policy has been a priority for Abbott, and Republicans at large, including through a policing program dubbed Operation Lone Star, and the controversial decision to deploy barriers in the Rio Grande along parts of the border.

While Abbott has held up Operation Lone Star as a success, it has also led to federal investigations into mistreatment of undocumented immigrants.

The Department of Justice sued over the barriers, alleging they violated federal law and international treaties. Abbot refused to remove them and is fighting the suit.

The special session next week is also intended to pass legislation providing additional funding for border security and a bill banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates from private employers in the state, Abbott said.

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will support the construction of a new border wall in Texas, waiving federal regulations and using funds allocated during the Trump administration. 

In the announcement Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the new border wall was needed, though the White House continues to describe walls as ineffective.

“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” he said.