AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Secure and Sovereign Nation campaign today announced a coalition letter signed by more than 100 conservative leaders, organizations, and elected officials expressing support for House Resolution 50, introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19). The resolution affirms that Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution preserves the sovereign authority of states to defend their territory and repel invasion when the federal government fails to act.
The coalition spans national policy organizations, former senior federal law enforcement officials, Texas state senators and representatives, the entire Texas Senate Republican Executive Committee, and grassroots leaders from across the state and nation.
“The Constitution does not leave states defenseless,” said Greg Sindelar, Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “This coalition reflects a broad and growing consensus that states possess inherent sovereign authority to protect their citizens and territory, a principle rooted in the founding era and reinforced by decades of constitutional practice.”
The letter argues that in recent years, states along the southern border faced unprecedented unlawful crossings by illegal aliens, the expansion of transnational criminal organizations, and the operational presence of narco-terrorist cartels exploiting gaps in federal enforcement. These conditions imposed extraordinary burdens on border communities, strained state resources, and threatened public safety.
Signatories include national policy organizations such as the America First Policy Institute, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Citizens for Renewing America, NumbersUSA, and the Oversight Project; former senior federal law enforcement leaders including Mark Morgan, Former Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas; all 62 members of the Texas Senate Republican Executive Committee; three Texas state senators; more than 20 Texas state representatives; and grassroots organizations from across Texas and the nation. A full list of signatories is included in the attached coalition letter.
The letter states that while the federal government possesses broad defensive and immigration-related responsibilities, the constitutional system does not render states defenseless. It emphasizes that the balance between national authority and state sovereignty is central to American federalism.
“The speed and scale at which border security can be compromised demonstrates how quickly similar circumstances could arise again absent clear constitutional recognition of state authority,” the coalition letter reads.
H.Res. 50 has been introduced by Chairman Arrington in three consecutive sessions of Congress. The resolution recognizes that Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution reserves to the states the sovereign power to repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from imminent danger.