• Target corrupt Mexican elites in Texas. Texas should create a list similar to the federal “Engel list” that would list and report on corrupt Mexican elites doing any sort of business in Texas. The state could still sanction them financially, limit their access to Texas state universities, or prevent Texas government from contracting with businesses linked to people on the list or state pension funds to invest in those businesses.
  • Unify the Texas border security leadership. Texas should consolidate border security responsibilities among the various state agencies involved to create a “Texas Border Command.” The Texas Border Command would support enhanced intelligence sharing and law enforcement presence across the Texas–Mexico border region and would become the state’s go-to leadership for issues related to border security.
  • Make the border security state apparatus more efficient and cost-effective. Texas should conduct an audit of the resources (financial resources, manpower, technology, communication between agencies) used by the state border security apparatus and how they are allocated. The audit should generate recommendations to render the apparatus more efficient. The audit should also focus on how much of the resources used by the state of Texas to alleviate the border crisis results in fewer resources to protect Texans in the rest of the state.
  • Strengthen local courts’ capacity to process migrant trespass charges. Texas should make sure that the local court system has the capacity to keep up with the number of arrests for criminal trespass by migrants that DPS is making by planning on adding judges in places where they are needed.
  • Aggressively prosecute Mexican cartels–related organized crime in Texas. The Legislature should ensure that the Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity (EOCA) statute is as strong as necessary to allow local law enforcement and prosecutors to aggressively prosecute Mexican cartels–related organized crime.
  • Review and approve agreements signed between Texas local governments and Mexican states and local governments. To ensure constitutional compliance and knowledge of international relations agreements signed between Texas local governments and Mexican local governments, the Legislature should require all such agreements to be reported to the Secretary of State, and for the Secretary of State to approve consequential ones and make all agreements available online.