Texas Policy Report
Immigration Reform
Impacts at the State and Federal Levels
GOVT 2306-21405
Fall 2013
Word Count: 1082
Texas has a reputation throughout history of differing views from the federal government in laws and politics pertaining to social, fiscal, and educational issues. On the whole, Texas operates as a largely conservative state. Because of this, policy-making is often right wing. With the institution of a Democratic, liberal president, the State’s dissent from the Federal government has only increased over certain issues. One hot topic of the 2012 Presidential election was immigration. With the major increase in immigration, it is no surprise that the issue was so emphasized. Between 2000 and 2011 there was a 30 percent increase in the foreign-born population. The immigrant population grew from 31.1 million to 40.04 million. (americanprogress.org) Texas has a special interest in this subject due to the fact that they have a population of over 4 million immigrants. Texas is among the top three states with foreign born individuals living within its borders, giving the state a vested interest in the nation’s immigration policy. (Orrenius et al., 1)
Historically, Texas has differentiated from the National government in regards to immigration. One example is the Supreme Court case Plyer v. Doe. In 1975, the Texas Legislature allowed public schools to deny enrollment to children who could not provide documentation that they were “legally-admitted” to the United States. In 1977, the Tyler independent school district adopted a policy that required foreign-born students who were not “legally-admitted” to pay tuition to attend. A group of students from Mexico who could not establish their “legal-admittance” filed a class action suit which challenged the policy. The Supreme Court ruled that the policy violated the Equal Protection Clause, stating, “If states provide a free public education to U.S. citizens and lawfully present foreign-born children, they
Impacts at the State and Federal Levels
GOVT 2306-21405
Fall 2013
Word Count: 1082
Texas has a reputation throughout history of differing views from the federal government in laws and politics pertaining to social, fiscal, and educational issues. On the whole, Texas operates as a largely conservative state. Because of this, policy-making is often right wing. With the institution of a Democratic, liberal president, the State’s dissent from the Federal government has only increased over certain issues. One hot topic of the 2012 Presidential election was immigration. With the major increase in immigration, it is no surprise that the issue was so emphasized. Between 2000 and 2011 there was a 30 percent increase in the foreign-born population. The immigrant population grew from 31.1 million to 40.04 million. (americanprogress.org) Texas has a special interest in this subject due to the fact that they have a population of over 4 million immigrants. Texas is among the top three states with foreign born individuals living within its borders, giving the state a vested interest in the nation’s immigration policy. (Orrenius et al., 1)
Historically, Texas has differentiated from the National government in regards to immigration. One example is the Supreme Court case Plyer v. Doe. In 1975, the Texas Legislature allowed public schools to deny enrollment to children who could not provide documentation that they were “legally-admitted” to the United States. In 1977, the Tyler independent school district adopted a policy that required foreign-born students who were not “legally-admitted” to pay tuition to attend. A group of students from Mexico who could not establish their “legal-admittance” filed a class action suit which challenged the policy. The Supreme Court ruled that the policy violated the Equal Protection Clause, stating, “If states provide a free public education to U.S. citizens and lawfully present foreign-born children, they
Cited: Council, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. . SU, RICK. "The States Of Immigration." William & Mary Law Review 54.4 (2013): 1339-1407. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. "Organizations and Leaders ' Critique of S.744." Against The Current 28.4 (2013): 11-12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.