PRINTER'S NO. 1424
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
251
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY MASTRIANO, ROTHMAN, BARTOLOTTA, GEBHARD, DUSH,
PITTMAN, PHILLIPS-HILL, BROOKS, PENNYCUICK, K. WARD,
LANGERHOLC, MARTIN, ARGALL, LAUGHLIN, COLEMAN, J. WARD,
VOGEL, CULVER, HUTCHINSON AND REGAN, MARCH 15, 2024
REFERRED TO VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
MARCH 15, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Governor to offer the services of the Pennsylvania
National Guard to the State of Texas in support of Operation
Lone Star.
WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution of the
United States requires the Federal Government to protect the
states against invasion; and
WHEREAS, Since January 2021, more than 7 million illegal
immigrants have crossed the southern border of the United
States, the majority of which have entered through Texas; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Government has failed to adequately
secure the border and has encouraged the increase in illegal
immigration by prohibiting Texas from defending its border; and
WHEREAS, On May 16, 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent
letters to all governors in the United States requesting support
for Operation Lone Star; and
WHEREAS, Currently, 14 states, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa,
Idaho, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
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South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming,
have deployed their national guard to secure the border; and
WHEREAS, Operation Lone Star personnel work to detect and
repel illegal crossings, arrest human smugglers and cartel gang
members and stop the flow of deadly drugs like fentanyl; and
WHEREAS, Operation Lone Star has led to more than 500,000
illegal immigrant apprehensions, more than 40,000 criminal
arrests and the seizure of more than 468 million lethal doses of
fentanyl, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety;
and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has a compelling interest to help
secure the southern border as fentanyl has killed tens of
thousands of residents throughout this Commonwealth, school
districts are increasingly burdened, available affordable
housing is constricted and strained social benefits are diverted
from legal citizens; and
WHEREAS, Illegal immigration cost Pennsylvania taxpayers more
than $1.6 billion in 2023, equating to a burden of $318 per
Pennsylvania household annually, according to the Federation for
American Immigration Reform; and
WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin founded what is now our
Pennsylvania National Guard to provide a common defense of
Pennsylvania in times of crisis; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has the third-largest National Guard in
the country with more than 18,000 personnel; and
WHEREAS, Throughout its history, the Pennsylvania National
Guard has been deployed nationwide to assist other states with
natural disasters, including hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and
terror attacks such as 9/11; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard also has experience
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assisting with surges of illegal immigration at the southwestern
border through its participation in Operation Jump Start; and
WHEREAS, In 2007, members of the 201st Red Horse Squadron of
the Pennsylvania National Guard were deployed to serve in
Operation Jump Start, where they helped to secure the southwest
border by constructing valuable infrastructure to keep our
border and citizens secure from human traffickers and drug
smugglers; and
WHEREAS, The lawlessness on the United States' southern
border and its impacts upon the people of Pennsylvania
constitutes a crisis that calls for a significant response from
this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard has the experience
and resources necessary to assist Texas in securing its border
and reducing the strain that illegal immigration is having on
the nation; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
urge the Governor to offer the services of the Pennsylvania
National Guard to the State of Texas in support of Operation
Lone Star; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the following:
(1) The Governor.
(2) The Governor of the State of Texas.
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