The Texas House voted Monday to advance a key component of the Republican-led bail reform package, but a constitutional amendment targeting certain immigrant defendants fell short of the two-thirds support needed for final passage.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1), which would allow judges to deny bail in a wider range of cases — including those involving undocumented immigrants and certain legally present non-citizens — advanced past second reading in the Texas House but failed to reach the 100 votes required for final passage on third reading.
Advocates and legal experts say it could have far-reaching effects on pretrial detention policies in Texas.
Concerns Over Due Process and Immigration Impacts
Civil rights groups, including the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), have warned that the measure would expand pretrial incarceration and restrict judicial discretion in ways that could disproportionately affect poor and immigrant communities.
“The right to due process and access to pretrial freedom protect us all by limiting the state’s ability to jail us for lengthy periods based merely on allegations,” said Chris Harris, associate director of advocacy at TCRP. “While requiring cash bail erodes these protections, SJR 1 shatters them by not only denying all access to freedom before the state has proven a person guilty, but by targeting people based on their identity.”
Although lawmakers amended the resolution to exclude most naturalized citizens, critics say the amendment would still apply to a broad category of immigrants — including DACA recipients, asylum seekers, survivors of trafficking or domestic violence, and those awaiting decisions under the Violence Against Women Act or U visa protections.
Under current law, individuals are generally presumed eligible for release on bail unless a judge determines they pose a flight risk or danger to the public. SJR 1 would expand the grounds under which bail can be denied, without requiring a conviction or individualized findings in some cases.
Senator Joan Huffman, who authored SJR 1, defended the measure since February as a necessary response to public safety concerns related to immigration. She said, “It is undeniable that the state has seen an increase in illegal immigration over the last few years. Unfortunately, this surge has also led to cases where illegal immigrants have committed serious crimes against residents with insufficient mechanisms in place to detain those who pose a considerable flight risk.”
However, opponents also highlight the financial strain SJR 1 could place on local governments. Since counties bear the costs of operating jails, expanded no-bail detention would shift the burden of incarcerating these individuals—previously managed by federal authorities—to local facilities, without any additional funding to offset the increased expenses. This could further stretch already overcrowded jails and strain county budgets.
The urgency of this concern is underscored by recent data: in 2024, 134 people died in Texas jails, many while awaiting trial, according to the Texas Jail Project. Additionally, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has reported 30 in-custody deaths in county jails so far in 2025, highlighting ongoing challenges in managing detainee health and safety.
Are Democratic Votes Crucial?
Because constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the Legislature, Democrats have the power to block SJR 1 if they vote in unison. On Sunday, several Democratic lawmakers — including Rep. Gene Wu, head of the House Democratic Caucus and former prosecutor for Harris County — opposed the measure, emphasizing its impact on vulnerable communities and the state’s longstanding legal principle of presumed innocence.
The broader bail reform package includes Senate Bill 9, which would increase the number of offenses ineligible for personal bonds, limit judicial discretion in counties with populations over 200,000, and create new procedural requirements for pretrial detention. That bill has cleared the Senate and is advancing in the House.
