Texas Republicans mandated that Democratic lawmakers not be allowed to leave the state house without a permission slip and a police escort.

The redrawing of Texas’s map is the first battle in a coast-to-coast war over redistricting between GOP-led states and those controlled by Democrats.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday kicked off a heated debate over a new congressional map creating five new potential GOP seats that is expected to pass the chamber later in the day as part of a growing national redistricting battle.

Texas Republicans are likely to pass their redistricting plans on Wednesday following weeks of Democrat protests

Democratic state Representative Nicole Collier spent the night in the Texas Capitol building rather than agree to a police monitor that is part of a contentious partisan struggle over redrawing voting districts to keep the national House of Representatives in Republican hands.

Texas Republicans insisted that Democrats have around-the-clock police escorts to ensure they wouldn’t leave again.