Dallas county officials float the idea of suing the state if a proposed bill to criminalize illegal border crossing becomes law.
Dallas County commissioners say a proposed Texas bill to further criminalize crossing the border is an unfunded mandate, leading to arrests that would exceed jail capacity.
County officials say that the financial burdens of the bill would fall on them, without any state assistance. The Dallas County jail has been wavering near capacity for months and officials say this legislation would require thousands of additional beds.would permit any law enforcement officer to arrest an undocumented migrant and charge them with a misdemeanor for a first-time offense or a felony if the person has a criminal record or has repeatedly entered the country illegally.
Dallas commissioners say the legislation would fill up county jails across the state without any attached funding, calling it an unfunded mandate. There are 98,000 county jail beds across the state, 72% of which are already filled.. Dallas County has been able to avoid spending millions of dollars on contracting with another county jail for bed space thus far, but commissioners worry that this bill would force their hand.
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