House Bill 4081 (2023) proposes that the commissioners court of a county may submit a request to the Texas Judicial Council for reimbursement of all or part of the salary paid to an associate judge. This would apply to visiting judges who have been appointed for cases constituting the offense of criminal trespass by an illegal alien. The reimbursement would be from money appropriated to the council for the purposes of border security.
Border Security
Immigration and the Moral Limits of Federalism
Lincoln’s natural rights statesmanship should be our guide. If Hayek taught us to inquire about who ought to decide and Lincoln taught us to ask to what end, then the question of immigration compels us toward a third and inescapable question: Where is the line drawn? The principles of subsidiarity and federalism demand that matters should be resolved...
February 4, 2026