Legal Immigration – One nation, one flag, one language, one loyalty; America is a country of immigrants, we should insist that any immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself/herself to the United States. He/she shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else. This is predicated upon the fact that the person is in every facet an American, and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance. Anyone who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t American at all. We have room but for one flag, the American Flag. We have room for but one language here and that is the English language. We have room for but one sole loyalty and that is loyalty to the American people. (Teddy Roosevelt, 1907)
Illegal Immigration – Secure the Borders Now.
With growing impatience the American people in overwhelming numbers have asked our Government to secure our borders. They now demand it and we as a party agree with the American people. Illegal aliens have by definition violated U.S. law.
We oppose illegal immigration, amnesty in any form leading to citizenship, or legal status for illegal immigrants. We support an end to the “catch and release” policy; criminal penalties and aggressive enforcement for those who knowingly employ illegal workers; expeditious hearings on deporting non-violent illegal immigrants; amending the U.S. constitution to suspend automatic U.S. citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants; elimination of federal and state funding to cities with “sanctuary” laws; empowering state and local law enforcement agencies with authority and resources to detain illegal immigrants; rejection of non-verifiable foreign-issued cards as valid identification; strict prosecution of any entity involved in phony identification documents; elimination of day labor work centers; elimination of laws requiring hospitals to give non-emergency care to illegal’s; elimination of social security benefits or federal and state funding to illegal’s for education, housing or business loans; preventing any foreign entity from using our judicial system to enter the United States; document verification prior to issuance of a Texas drivers license; withholding federal highway funds from any state issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens; and aggressive prosecution of persons smuggling humans across our borders. We support requiring all employers to utilize E-verify system to confirm the legal status of all new hires.
Enforcement of Immigration Law – We support strict and immediate enforcement of all immigration laws. Birthright Citizenship – We call on the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of these United States to clarify Section 1 of the 14th amendment to limit citizenship by birth to those born to a citizen of the United States: with no exceptions
Driver Licenses - We propose that every Texas driver license shall indicate whether the driver is a U.S. citizen. No such license shall be issued to anyone not legally in the country.
Law Enforcement - We support limitation of criminal jurisdiction of federal law-enforcement agencies into state and local jurisdictions and encourage them to enforce the laws under federal jurisdiction. The states have the right to protect their citizens if the federal government fails to enforce their applicable laws.
Census - We oppose the Census Bureau’s obtaining data beyond the number of people residing in a dwelling, and we oppose statistical sampling adjustments. We support the actual counting of people and oppose any type of estimation or manipulation of Census data. Only U.S. citizens should be counted for the purpose of adjusting legislative districts.
Preserving American Freedom - Page #4
Real ID Act Restoring Integrity to Our Elections – Page #5.
Voter Registration - We support restoring integrity to the voter registration rolls and reducing voter fraud. We support repeal of all Motor Voter laws; re-registering voters every four years; requiring photo ID of all registrants; proof of residency and citizenship, along with voter registration application; retention of the 30-day registration deadline; and requiring that a list of certified deaths be provided to the election administrator in order that the names of deceased voters be removed from the list of registered voters.
Voting Rights - We support equal suffrage for all U.S. Citizens of voting age who are not felons. We oppose any identification of citizens by race, origin, or creed and oppose use of any such identification for purposes of creating voting districts.
Fair Election Procedures - We support modifications and strengthening of election laws to ensure ballot integrity and fair elections. We strongly urge the Texas attorney general to litigate the previously passed voter ID legislation. We support increased scrutiny and security in balloting by mail; prohibition of internet voting and any electronic voting lacking a verifiable paper trail; prohibition of mobile voting; prosecution for election fraud with jail sentences; repeal of the unconstitutional “Help America Vote Act”; and assurance that each polling place has a distinctly marked and if possible separate location for Republican and Democratic primary voting.
Honoring the Symbols of Our American Heritage – Page #6.
American English - We support adoption of American English as the official language of Texas and of the United States.
Celebrating Traditional Marriage – Page #7. Human Trafficking - The Republican Party of Texas adamantly opposes any form of human trafficking.
Strengthening Families Protecting Life and Promoting Health – Page #10.
ASSISTING FAMILIES TO SELF SUFFICIENCY Welfare Reform Welfare should offer a hand up to transition families and individuals through hard times and welfare reform should encourage partnerships with faith based institutions, community and business organizations to assist individuals in need. The current system encourages dependency on government and robs individuals and generations of healthy motivation and self-respect. It should be limited in scope. We encourage welfare reform in the following areas:
1. Denying benefits to individuals who cannot prove citizenship;
2. Welfare reforms should require recipients to work, learn, and train;
3. Reforms should require recipients to remain substance abuse free in exchange for temporary benefits not exceeding two years.
4. Recipients should be required to submit to random drug testing in order to receive benefits;
5. Welfare cards should be confined to food and vital essentials, not cigarettes, lottery purchases, or alcohol or drugs of any kind;
6. Prisoners should be removed from welfare rolls; and
7. A nominal co-pay should be required to encourage judicious utilization of health care services.
Educating Our Children – Page 11.
Bilingual Education – We encourage non-English speaking students to transition to English within three years.
College Tuition – We recommend three levels of college tuition: In-state requiring proof of Texas legal citizenship, out-of-state requiring proof of US citizenship, and nonresident legal alien. Non-US citizens should not be eligible for state or federal grants, or loans.
Educational Entitlement [page 12] – We encourage legislation that prohibits enrollment in free public schools of non-citizens unlawfully present in the United States.
Foreign Culture Charter Schools in Texas [page 13] – We oppose public funding of charter schools which receive money from foreign entities. We demand that these Charter Schools have accountability and transparency to local parents, taxpayers, the State of Texas, as do current public schools, including U.S. citizenship of principals.
Promoting Individual Freedom and Safety – Page 14.
State Militia – We support the establishment and maintenance of a volunteer Constitutional State Militia with assistance from County Sheriffs.
Electronic Privacy – We believe all law-abiding citizens should be free from government surveillance of their electronic communications except in cases directly involving national security, by court order. Except for non-citizens, we further oppose any national ID program, including the Real ID Act and the use of Radio Frequency Identification Chips (RFID) on humans.
Business and Economy - Page 19.
American Jobs – We support a favorable business climate of low taxes and deregulation to encourage capital investment, ensuring retention and creation of American jobs.