Good morning, 

Will state lawmakers work to stop illegal immigration? We'll take a look in today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Monday, October 26, 2020
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• For years, illegal immigration has been rated as one of the most important issues for conservative voters. And yet, lawmakers in the state capitol have done little to end the magnets that attract illegal aliens to the Lone Star State.
   
• Recently, 294 individuals were discovered being smuggled into the United States in four separate incidents during an 18-hour timespan. Ninety of those individuals were from countries other than Mexico.
   
• According to Laredo Sector Chief Matthew J. Hudak of the Border Patrol, the individuals were paying smugglers a fee of about $5,000 per person to be placed in dangerous conditions to cross into the United States.

• Last year, hundreds of grassroots leaders and organizations from across the state signed on to support the Lone Star Agenda—a package of conservative reforms to be passed during a special session intended to unite voters ahead of the upcoming elections.
   
• One of those reforms that has energized citizens is securing the southern border:
   

  • Prevent the hiring of illegal aliens and anyone not legally authorized to work in the US, to protect jobs for American workers.
     

  • Close loopholes in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), indigent health care (non-emergency/non-life-threatening care), and other social welfare programs that allow appropriated funds to go to non-citizens.
     

• Additionally, the Lone Star Agenda calls for ending human trafficking, a vast amount of which takes place across the southern border.

• Perhaps one of the biggest magnets, however, is in-state tuition. Under the terms of a law passed in early 2001, illegal aliens are allowed to receive “in-state tuition” at the state’s public universities—the same discounted tuition rate offered to Texas residents—giving them a cheaper education than is available for U.S. citizens and legal residents from other states.
   

• Of course, that “cheaper” education comes from tax dollars paid by Texas taxpayers.
   

• At the 2016 Texas GOP Convention, more than 95 percent of delegates registered their opposition to the practice, demanding that lawmakers repeal in-state tuition for illegals.
   

• And yet, legislation to end the practice has stalled in the Texas Legislature. During the most recent session, bills filed by State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg) and State Sen. Pat Fallon (R–Prosper) failed to even receive committee hearings.

• Though calls for a special session were ignored by Republican statewide elected officials, citizens intend to continue fighting for those policies in the upcoming legislative session.
   
• Lawmakers in the state capitol will once again have the choice: Will they listen to the citizens, or will they continue to obstruct conservative reforms?
   
• The 2021 legislative session will begin on January 12, 2021.

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