The U.S. Senate race in Texas is heating up, with Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico taking different positions on border security.
Talarico has said he supports border security and has touted legislation he authored in the Texas Legislature to increase security at ports of entry by installing X-Ray inspection technology systems at Texas-Mexico border crossings.
His campaign website also says he wants to strengthen border security, support law enforcement response efforts, maximize safety, and enhance infrastructure and road technology at the border.
However, Talarico’s voting record in the Texas House includes votes against several border security measures.
Talarico has served in the Texas House since 2018. During the 86th Legislative Session, he voted against House Bill 888 which allows people who misrepresents a child as a family member to be arrested and charged with a Class B misdemeanor.
In 2021, Talarico voted against a bill appropriating $1.8 billion for border security efforts, including $750 million for an additional border barrier and $450 million for additional Texas National Guard and law enforcement personnel at the border.
During the 88th Legislative Session, Talarico voted against House Bill 7, which created a Texas Border Protection Unit and funded border security infrastructure. He also voted against Senate Bill 602, which expanded Border Patrol’s authority to arrest individuals accused of committing state crimes, and Senate Bill 1403, which authorized interstate cooperation and assistance for defensive border infrastructure.
Talarico was recorded as absent for the vote on House Bill 6, which allocated funds for border barriers and increased penalties for human smuggling.
During the fourth called session of the 88th Legislative Session, Talarico voted against Senate Bill 3, which provided funding for border barriers and border security operations He also voted against Senate Bill 4, which made unauthorized entry into Texas from a foreign nation a state crime and allowed local police to arrest illegal aliens.
He also voted against House Bill 4, which prohibits the illegal entry into or illegal presence in Texas by a person who is an alien, established enforcement provisions and authorized the removal of people who violated certain provisions in liu of arrest. The bill also created criminal offenses.
Talarico stated he opposed the bill because it didn’t offer real solutions to the problem.
“We have real problems on our southern border, but this bill doesn’t provide any real solutions.” Talarico said. “This bill doesn’t reform our asylum system. It doesn’t establish a guest worker program. It doesn’t relieve the visa backlog. It doesn’t modernize our ports of entry where 93 percent of the fentanyl gets in.”
In the most recent Legislative Session, Talarico voted against Senate Bill 8, which allows local law enforcement to assist the federal government with deportation efforts through 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Talarico has also missed more than 800 votes in the Texas House between May 22, 2019 to April 16, 2025.
Beyond his voting record, Talarico has made multiple statements that have raised concerns among some Texas voters.
During a Texas Democratic Senate Primary debate, Talarico said he believes America’s southern border should be “like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door.”
Paxton released a statement criticizing Talarico’s voting record.
“James Talarico is a hypocrite who has taken a page out of the Joe Biden playbook: talks tough but, when it comes down to it, he wants America and Texas to be a place of lawlessness and he wants the American dream dead,” Paxton said.
