Many years ago some of the local councils went to similar lengths to prevent squatting. If done right, squatting was legal in England. The council would send crews to the empty properties to smash the toilets and water pipes. Some of these houses were scheduled for demolition - a year or more down the line.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
I think that squatting is actually legal here in Texas, but it isn't done very often, I read about a case up in the Dallas area last year on a house in a Dallas suburb where a guy was squatting to gain control of the house.