Rep. John Culberson is on with Edd Hendee (KSEV-700) right now discussing this:
Adding an unusual proposal to the searing debate over illegal immigration, U.S. Rep. John Culberson of Houston introduced a bill late Thursday to let Texas and other border states establish armed militias to catch people trying to illegally cross from Mexico and Canada.
The bill, which he called a “thunderclap,” is more than a solitary, symbolic gesture by the Republican lawmaker: It has 46 Republican co-sponsors.
It comes as the White House, Congress and local officials are becoming increasingly immersed in efforts to find the best way to secure the borders and perhaps also establish a “guest worker” program to let immigrants stay in the United States as temporary legal residents.
Gov. Rick Perry indicated he is open to Culberson’s idea.
“Illegal immigration has become a pervasive problem in this country, and it is a drain on our economy,” Perry said. “Regardless of the mechanism, the federal government must provide a stronger presence along the border and must provide substantially more funding for border protection.”
Among Culberson’s co-sponsors are 10 Texans, including freshmen Reps. Ted Poe of Humble and Michael McCaul of Austin.
The measure’s stated goal is to let governors create a Border Protection Corps of citizens to shield the country from “uniquely devious, criminal, cowardly and fanatically determined” terrorist organizations.
