By: Cain	H.B. No. 40

Statutes affected:
Introduced: ()

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to prohibitions on the illegal entry into or illegal
	presence in this state by a person who is an alien, the enforcement
	of those prohibitions, and authorizing under certain circumstances
	the removal of persons who violate certain of those prohibitions;
	creating criminal offenses.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
	Chapter 51 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 51. ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO THIS STATE
	Sec. 51.01.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)  "Alien" has the meaning assigned by 8 U.S.C.
	Section 1101, as that provision existed on January 1, 2023.
	(2)  "Child" means a person younger than 18 years of
	age.
	(3)  "Port of entry" means a port of entry in the United
	States as designated by 19 C.F.R. Part 101.
	Sec. 51.015.  ENFORCEMENT PROHIBITED IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS.
	Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a peace
	officer may not arrest, remove, or otherwise detain a person for
	purposes of enforcing a provision of this chapter if the person is
	on the premises or grounds of:
	(1)  a public or private primary or secondary school;
	(2)  a church, synagogue, or other established place of
	religious worship; or
	(3)  a hospital licensed under Chapter 241, Health and
	Safety Code.
	Sec. 51.016.  ENFORCEMENT PROHIBITED IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS.
	Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a peace
	officer may not arrest, remove, or otherwise detain a person for
	purposes of enforcing a provision of this chapter if, for purposes
	of obtaining a forensic medical examination and treatment, the
	person is on the premises or grounds of a SAFE-ready facility, as
	defined by Section 323.001, Health and Safety Code, or another
	facility that provides forensic medical examinations to sexual
	assault survivors in accordance with Chapter 323, Health and Safety
	Code.
	Sec. 51.02.  ILLEGAL ENTRY FROM FOREIGN NATION. (a) A
	person who is an alien commits an offense if the person enters or
	attempts to enter this state directly from a foreign nation at any
	location other than a lawful port of entry.
	(b)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
	except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is shown on the
	trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously
	convicted of an offense under this section.
	(c)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
	section that:
	(1)  the federal government has granted the defendant:
	(A)  lawful presence in the United States; or
	(B)  asylum under 8 U.S.C. Section 1158;
	(2)  the defendant's conduct does not constitute a
	violation of 8 U.S.C. Section 1325(a); or
	(3)  the defendant was approved for benefits under the
	federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program between June
	15, 2012, and July 16, 2021.
	(d)  The following federal programs do not provide an
	affirmative defense for purposes of Subsection (c)(1):
	(1)  the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and
	Lawful Permanent Residents program; and
	(2)  any program not enacted by the United States
	Congress that is a successor to or materially similar to the program
	described by Subsection (c)(3) or Subdivision (1).
	(e)  Notwithstanding any other law, a peace officer who is
	charging a person detained for a violation of this section with
	committing an offense under this section may, in lieu of arresting
	the person or taking the person before a magistrate, remove the
	person by:
	(1)  collecting available identifying information of
	the person, which may include the use of photographic and biometric
	measures that are cross-referenced with all relevant local, state,
	and federal criminal databases;