Dallas Morning News (Editorial- Texas)
June 6, 2015
Texas
legislators sent mixed messages this session regarding where they stand
on illegal immigration. They made clear with their vote to
significantly boost border security
funding that they want a crackdown on criminality linked to illegal
immigration. Yet they backed away from legislation aimed at restricting
higher educational opportunities for unauthorized immigrants.
Some
conservative legislators were intent on repealing provisions of a 2001
law signed by Gov. Rick Perry granting in-state college tuition to
unauthorized immigrants.
The repeal effort put them on a collision course with other Republicans
who saw it as mean-spirited and ultimately unhelpful to the goal of
boosting the talent pool available to Texas employers.
Fortunately,
the voices of reason prevailed, no doubt influenced by the Texas
Association of Business and other groups who warned that the measure was
bad for business
— a message particularly resonant in Texas.
The
logic of maintaining in-state tuition for qualified unauthorized
immigrants is simple. Taxpayers, regardless of how they feel about
immigration, are required by federal
law to fund public K-12 schooling regardless of a child’s legal status.
After high school, in-state tuition dramatically reduces college costs
that would otherwise put higher education out of reach.
Skeptics
might argue that the higher-education effort does Texas no good, since a
college-graduate unauthorized immigrant still cannot be legally
employed. So what’s the
use?
Texas
Association of Business CEO Bill Hammond says this conundrum
underscores the need for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal
level. But until reform happens,
graduates still have ways of getting employment by starting their own
businesses or becoming independent contractors. Either way, Texas
business always benefits from having access to a more highly educated
workforce.
The
HB 11 border security law, passed by overwhelming Senate and House
majorities, seemed destined for passage, given that Gov. Greg Abbott
declared it in advance as a
legislative priority. Unfortunately, the Legislature failed to include
crucial accountability provisions to ensure that the $840 million in
spending over the next two years has a measurable effect, particularly
regarding crimes such as drug smuggling and human
trafficking.
Last
year, Perry ordered additional state troopers and Texas National Guard
soldiers to deploy along the border, just as a surge of Central American
migrants was ending.
Although officials asserted significant gains in drug-related seizures
because of the deployment, their numbers didn’t add up.
Sen.
Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, sought unsuccessfully to add provisions
to HB 11 requiring the Department of Public Safety to report data on
seizures and arrests to
help gauge the program’s success.
We
have no quibbles with tighter border security. But it was
irresponsible, especially when Republicans are demanding greater
scrutiny for big expenditures, to pass a
measure of this financial magnitude without stricter accountability
requirements.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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