79S20559 CLE-D



By:  Alonzo                                                       H.R. No. 188







R E S O L U T I O N

	WHEREAS, Texans will benefit greatly if the United States 

Congress enacts the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act by 

United States Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy and 

Congressmen Jim Kolbe, Jeff Flake, and Luis Gutierrez to strengthen 

the economy, improve national security, and protect the labor 

rights of all workers; and

	WHEREAS, Offering a legal vehicle for new workers to enter 

the country when employers are unable to find United States 

workers, the legislation also provides a mechanism to bring 

existing undocumented workers out of the shadows and toward a path 

of citizenship; and

	WHEREAS, Introduced in the United States Senate as S. 1033 

and in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 2330, the 

bipartisan legislation supported by business and trade 

associations, organized labor, and immigration reform advocates 

would make available two new types of work visas; and

	WHEREAS, The Essential Worker Visa would be portable and 

valid for three years and would allow foreign workers to enter and 

fill available jobs that require few or no skills if applicants have 

a job waiting in the United States, pay all application fees, and 

clear all security, medical, and other checks; and

	WHEREAS, Secondly, a six-year work visa designed for 

undocumented workers already in the United States would allow 

travel abroad and family reunification and be offered to applicants 

who pay a $1,000 fine, show work history and a clean criminal 

record, and submit to fingerprinting and background checks; and

	WHEREAS, To qualify for permanent United States resident 

status, workers would be required to meet a future work 

requirement, clear additional security and background checks, pay 

substantial fines and application fees as well as back taxes, and 

meet prescribed English and civics requirements; and

	WHEREAS, The new visas would be difficult to counterfeit and 

contain biometric, machine-readable, and tamper-resistant 

information; additional security measures in the legislation 

include implementation of a National Strategy for Border Security 

and establishment of a Border Security Advisory Committee; and

	WHEREAS, The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act 

resembles policy that President George W. Bush outlined more than a 

year ago to ensure that "employers who are looking for workers are 

able to find people who are willing to do the jobs they have in a 

legal way"; and

	WHEREAS, Recognizing that Americans have benefited from the 

hard work of millions of undocumented workers who have endured 

lives of fear and discrimination, the Act's reforms reflect the 

American principles of humanity, fairness, and equality; now, 

therefore, be it

	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 

Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the 

Congress of the United States to enact the bipartisan Secure 

America and Orderly Immigration Act, S. 1033 by United States 

Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy or H.R. 2330 by Congressmen 

Jim Kolbe, Jeff Flake, and Luis Gutierrez; and, be it further

	RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of 

Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the 

president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of 

representatives and the president of the senate of the United 

States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to 

the congress with the request that this resolution be officially 

entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of 

the United States of America.