Posted on 09/28/2011 7:08:25 AM PDT by hocndoc
Somewhat overlooked in the attention heaped upon Gov. Rick Perry's immigration position in the wake of recent weeks GOP presidential primary debates is the reality that in 2001, Perry was joined by virtually the entire Republican membership of the Texas Legislature in supporting legislation allowing undocumented immigrants who meet a series of requirements (e.g., be a Texas high school graduate, a Texas resident, and agree to apply for permanent residency when eligible) to pay in-state tuition at Texas public institutions of higher education.
Perrys decision to defend rather than repudiate the legislation has had the immediate effect of dangling the self-described piñata closer to his bat-swinging presidential primary opponents. If we look back at the legislative politics, or lack thereof, surrounding the passage of the bill in 2001, we see just how far to the right the GOP has moved on immigration issues.
The Texas Legislature in 2001: Todays conservatives embraced a Texas Dream Act
In 2001 the Republican Party enjoyed a narrow majority over the Democratic Party in the Texas Senate (16 to 15), and was in its last session as the minority party in the Texas House, with 72 seats to the Democratic Partys 78.The final version of HB 1403 was amended and passed by the Senate on May 21, 2001, voted on for a second time in the House (which concurred with the Senates amended version) on May 24, and signed into law by Perry on June 16.
In the Senate, the bill passed by a 27-to-3 vote, with 12 Republicans and 15 Democrats in favor, and three Republicans against. Seven of the 12 Republicans who supported the bill continue to serve today in the Texas Senate, with three (Sens. John Carona, Troy Fraser and Florence Shapiro) among only eight senators (out of a total of 19 Republicans) to receive awards for their legislative voting record from the conservative watchdog group Empower Texans. Also voting yes was Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples, who was then a senator.
Somewhat overlooked in the attention heaped upon Gov. Rick Perry's immigration position in the wake of recent weeks GOP presidential primary debates is the reality that in 2001, Perry was joined by virtually the entire Republican membership of the Texas Legislature in supporting legislation allowing undocumented immigrants who meet a series of requirements (e.g., be a Texas high school graduate, a Texas resident, and agree to apply for permanent residency when eligible) to pay in-state tuition at Texas public institutions of higher education.
Perrys decision to defend rather than repudiate the legislation has had the immediate effect of dangling the self-described piñata closer to his bat-swinging presidential primary opponents. If we look back at the legislative politics, or lack thereof, surrounding the passage of the bill in 2001, we see just how far to the right the GOP has moved on immigration issues.
The Texas Legislature in 2001: Todays conservatives embraced a Texas Dream Act
In 2001 the Republican Party enjoyed a narrow majority over the Democratic Party in the Texas Senate (16 to 15), and was in its last session as the minority party in the Texas House, with 72 seats to the Democratic Partys 78. The final version of HB 1403 was amended and passed by the Senate on May 21, 2001, voted on for a second time in the House (which concurred with the Senates amended version) on May 24, and signed into law by Perry on June 16.
In the Senate, the bill passed by a 27-to-3 vote, with 12 Republicans and 15 Democrats in favor, and three Republicans against. Seven of the 12 Republicans who supported the bill continue to serve today in the Texas Senate, with three (Sens. John Carona, Troy Fraser and Florence Shapiro) among only eight senators (out of a total of 19 Republicans) to receive awards for their legislative voting record from the conservative watchdog group Empower Texans. Also voting yes was Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples, who was then a senator.
The final version of the bill received even stronger Republican backing in the House, with 64 Republicans joining 66 Democrats to vote yes (130 total) versus only two dissenting votes (both Republicans). In the vote on the original version of HB 1403 on April 23, 67 Republicans joined 75 Democrats to approve the bill, with one Republican voting no. Ten years later, 23 of the 64 Republicans (along with two Democrats who would later switch to the Republican Party) who voted yea on the final version of the bill continued in office, as did two Republicans who voted for the bill on April 23 but were absent on May 24.
These legislators are some of the Texas Houses most conservative members (based on both the Empower Texans 2011 Legislative Scorecard as well as the Baker Institutes 2011 Liberal-Conservative rating), including former House Speaker (2003-09) Tom Craddick, Sid Miller, Leo Berman, Phil King, Dennis Bonnen, Wayne Christian and Bill Callegari. All were classified by both Empower Texans and the Baker Institute as among the most conservative third of the Republican delegation in the 2011 Texas House. Furthermore, five additional representatives who supported the bill (Gary Elkins, Charlie Howard, Lois Kolkhorst, Geanie Morrison and Burt Solomons) were considered by both Empower Texans and the Baker Institute to be among the most conservative half of the 2011 Republican caucus.
Berman is especially well known for his hawkish stance on immigration. In 2011 he was the author of several bills in this area, including one patterned on Arizonas SB 1070 and others which proposed to end birthright citizenship and to make English the states official language. In addition, one of the Republican representatives who voted for HB 1403, Kenny Marchant, now represents Texas in the U.S. House, where he is located in the most conservative decile of the House membership by Voteview.org.
he difference a decade can make
The contrast between the near-universal Republican support for HB 1403 (94 percent of the Republican legislators cast yea votes, and only 6 percent voted nay) in 2001 and the present attacks in 2011 on Perry for his past support of HB 1403 underscores how the median position within the Republican Party on immigration changed during the past decade. It also reflects somewhat the distinct historical and societal context in which the immigration debate occurs in Texas compared to elsewhere in the country.
Back in 2001, Perrys support for this legislation was fully within the mainstream of the Texas Republican Party, and in many (though not all) respects of the national Republican Party as well. Ten years later, what is considered mainstream within the GOP nationally (as well as within the Texas GOP) clearly has changed, with a sharp move to the right within the party on the topic of immigration.
What a decade ago was a consensus position on the issue of in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants is now seen as an outlier position at the liberal end of the Republican ideological spectrum. As a result, Perrys decision to not refute his past position on in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants (i.e., to not engage in a flip-flop), and less the decision itself, is what has principally left him open to attacks from his opponents.
His refusal to modify his stance has provided ammunition to his Republican primary opponents in their attempt to portray him as being outside of the Republican mainstream on immigration due to a decision which, at the time Perry made it, enjoyed near-absolute consensus within the Texas Republican Party.
Illegal immigration is directly tied to our fiscal budget dilemma as well as the massive national unemployment we now are experiencing . What to do with the illegals problem is a paramount issue just like the debt . All GOPers must first agree to STOP the flow at the border and then to give notice to all illegals to register their status or face deportation . Stop the entitlements for them and all other cookies ,, all employers must use E-Verify and report social security fraud . Try to remember ,, for what ever reason ,, these people broke into your home ,, took up permanent residency ,, get free handouts , medical care , schooling , college tuition’s , etc at the home owners expense ,,,, you !!!! Then they are allowed to vote to keep the very idiot politicians who made this all possible for them . . .
That’s the REAL problem with candidates like Perry who are soft on illegal immigration and many Tea Party folks have had ENOUGH already !!! If you want to develop a voting base start with the American tax payer .
We don’t have sanctuary cities in Texas like those in Alaska, etc. Some local sheriffs and police depts have policies that impede officers from checking immigration status until people are arrested.
In the meantime, the Feds have made it harder and more expensive for those departments that do wish to check citizenship. The Governor, in “Fed Up!,” refers to this article on the dilution of the 287g program by Obama http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/03/time-to-stop-the-rush-for-amnesty-immigration-reform
They now force local law enforcement agencies who wish to participate, to press all charges, to only check those who are arrested for serious crimes, and question the ability and professionalism of local LE agencies.
As to e-verify, the State uses a different system, but they do check immigration status of all employees. Remember that Newt Gingrich says the current E-verify is unreliable.
The
Houston’s police chief made department policy. Some local officials have said they won’t check status unless people are arrested for serious crimes. On the other hand, Farmer’s Branch passed an ordinance forbidding rentals to illegal aliens and a Federal judge overturned them. (Alaska, Maine and Oregon are a *sanctuary states*)
However, when you look at the hassles the Feds give local LEO’s who do try to apprehend illegal aliens, it’s easier to understand some of the resistance.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/03/time-to-stop-the-rush-for-amnesty-immigration-reform (see the section on 287g changes made by Obama.)
Perry’s comment was in response to the badgering he was taking fron Mitt Romney and Chris Wallace, the “don’t have a heart” comment was addressed to them. I watched the debate, I never thought he was talking about me or other conservatives. He was visibly annoyed by the two smarmy weasels Wallace and Romney. Perry can explain that if he chooses to, not apologize for it. If he apologizes he’ll just be accused of pandering or flipfloping. He can expain it or ignore it, but he would be crazy to apologize.
Perry is not soft on illegal immigration. He has worked for 20 years with the problem of working around the roadblocks that the Feds put in the way of Texas and other states when we try to control immigration.
We’re supposed to begin deporting criminals paroled from our own prisons this month. http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/08/25/texas-can-soon-begin-deporting-foreign-convicts/
But let’s wait and see how helpful the DOJ and ICE really are, when these are the same agencies bringing criminals to the State from Arizona and all over the US.
We spend 100’s of millions on our own Rangers, DPS, and local law enforcement trying to keep the illegal aliens out of our State to be faced with Federal Border patrols who won’t shoot, are too far away to respond, and a Dept of Justice that dumps 100’s of thousands of deportation cases in our State - they set a future court date and let the illegal alien go on his own. Recently, they’ve just started to dismiss the cases.
http://www.texastribune.org/immigration-in-texas/immigration/dhs-review-possibly-hault-some-deportation-cases/
We tried to keep the children of illegal aliens out of our schools, and were over turned by the Supreme Court in 1982.
We spend nearly a billion dollars a year on education for grades k-12 for illegal aliens, but there’s nothing we can do.
Michelle Bachmann had made some comments, too. Claiming she’d fence off “every inch” of the Rio Grande and calling Texas’ policies “madness.”
,,,,,, sorry but I feel that Perry is just another Bush 43 who will turn his head on the immigration problem once he’s elected . I got the same feeling as the audience during Fox’s last debate in which Perry made the statement about you not having a heart if you don’t extend these perks to the illegals . That one statement without a doubt has him falling from grace with the Tea Party and most other conservative groups and independents . He spoke his true feelings and he got booed big time . Perry does not even believe there should be a fence along Texas’s border ( it sure worked in Eastern Europe and still does in China ) . Shovel ready jobs securing the southern border sounds real good to most Americans ,, a nice group competitive bid contracts by the private sector would create many non govt. employment opportunities for many legal Texans’.
He’s Toast !!!
Yes, Michele has come out of this greatly diminished in my eyes. Her statements and actions border on either desperation, derangement, or some mix of the two.
Pro or Con this issue wouldnt have to be debated if the Federal Govt would do its job on the borders. There wouldnt even be a need to provide education at the lower levels of elementary and high school either.Exactly so. Fixing the symptoms won't cure the disease. Forcing the Federal Government to do its job will be the first step to recovery.
I hope you are just joking because anyone who denies that there are no sanctuary cities and counties in Texas is certifiably insane.
If you go to the link above, you will see the sanctuary jurisdictions in Texas (Austin and Houston) citing the relevant laws/decrees/regulations that essentially flaunt US immigration laws and prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with the feds.
Sanctuary Cities Bill Clears Texas Senate
As to e-verify, the State uses a different system, but they do check immigration status of all employees. Remember that Newt Gingrich says the current E-verify is unreliable.
There is no different system except the I-9s that are rife with fraud. It was the reason why the E-Verify system was created. It is pure BS to say that the system, created in 1996, is unreliable. What measures are you using? You appear to know very little about the immigration issue. I say that advisedly having worked fulltime on the issue for over five years, lobbied on the Hill and in Richmond, and testified on the issue before legislators. FYI: E-Verify is mandatory on all federal contracts.
He should have gotten a 30 sec reply after Bachmann made the “madness” statement, but Wallace kept going on his own agenda - he knew the questions that were coming.
Perry’s got history, and a proven “hard core right conservative,” according to “On the Issues.” He has fought for pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-business laws and resisted pressure over and over to raise taxes or try for an income tax. He lowered school taxes in ‘06, fought for tort reform and the new “loser pays.” We have voter ID, a new law prohibiting illegals from getting a driver’s license.
He pressured the Senate to pass the sanctuary cities ban, but the House, with 150 members (101 of them Republican) balked with Republicans including big donors and even grass roots anti-immigration activists told them not to pass the bill.
The whole Legislature has passed this bill into law, twice, and refused to over turn this year.
Yeah, the feds also require union workers.
Did you hear Newt Gingrich on E verify?
Struggling U.S. workers continue to compete with millions of illegal aliens. Do you support legislation to require all employers to use E-Verify in order to ensure that the people that they hire are actually legally authorized to work in the U.S.? And will you impose penalties against employers who continue to hire illegal workers?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: The question, Mr. Speaker, is, should employers be required to use E-Verify?
GINGRICH: Well, let me say, first of all, I think we would be better off to outsource E-Verify to American Express, MasterCard or Visa, because they actually know how to run a program like that without massive fraud.
(APPLAUSE)
GINGRICH: Second, the program should be as easy as swiping your credit card when you buy gasoline. And so I would ask of employers, what is it you would object to in helping the United States of America in dealing with the problem involving illegal immigration?
,,,,,,, I guess I just don’t have a heart ,,, like he says ,,, and we all know what he ment no matter what the record says .
,,,, he’s toast . . .
Further evidence that this country is not well served having border state politicians with too much say in national policies concerning illegal aliens. Some seem genetically incapable of resisting the urge to pander.
E-Verify Statistics and Reports
Most employees are automatically confirmed as work authorized.
98.3 percent of employees are automatically confirmed as authorized to work ("work authorized") either instantly or within 24 hours, requiring no employee or employer action. 1.7 percent of employees receive initial system mismatches.
Of the 1.7% of employees who receive initial system mismatches:
0.3 percent are later confirmed as work authorized after contesting and resolving the mismatch. 1.43 percent are not found work authorized.
Of the 1.43% of employees not found to be work authorized:
1.3 percent of employees who receive initial mismatches do not contest the mismatch either because they do not choose to or are unaware of the opportunity to contest and as a result are not found work authorized. The E-Verify program closely monitors uncontested mismatches and actively reaches out to employers to ensure that they are aware of their responsibility to inform employees of the right to contest.
0.01 percent of employees who receive initial mismatches contest the mismatch and are not found work authorized.
0.14 percent of employees with initial mismatches are unresolved because the employer closed the cases as "self-terminated" or as requiring further action by either the employer or employee at the end of FY10.
The Customer Satisfaction Index for E-Verify is 82. This is a positive result, especially when compared to benchmarks such as the latest federal government satisfaction index, which is 69. Even more so when considering that many of the users signed up not voluntarily, but because of a requirement from local, state or federal government or a parent company.
271,460 employers enrolled in the system. 13 million screened.
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