83S10168 BPG-D

By: Anchia H.C.R. No. 3

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In an increasingly complex global economy, transnational labor mobility is crucial to the prosperity of the United States, but our rigid, outmoded immigration policies are making it difficult for the nation to compete; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress last enacted major immigration legislation more than a quarter-century ago; since that time, piecemeal attempts at reform have failed to create the kind of rational and effective system we need to maintain competitiveness, whether in industries like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing, which require large numbers of workers able to perform physically demanding tasks, or in technology, where the demand for employees with advanced degrees in math and science is projected to outstrip supply by 2018; and

WHEREAS, Immigrants perform vital functions in a variety of industries, and in Texas, they start nearly a third of the state's new businesses; even unauthorized immigrants produce more in state revenue than they receive in state services, according to a 2006 study by the Office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which estimated that their deportation would cause more than a six percent decline in the workforce and nearly an $18 billion decline in the gross state product; and

WHEREAS, The United States is now home to some 11 million unauthorized immigrants, including millions of children brought to this country illegally who have grown up here and know no home other than the United States; a commonsense road map to earned legal status for these residents would create additional tax revenue and stimulate the economy by allowing them to open bank accounts, obtain college degrees, buy homes, establish new American companies, and create jobs; a recent study published by the Cato Institute estimated that a complete overhaul of the immigration system would yield at least $1.5 trillion in added U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years; and

WHEREAS, A rational overhaul of the immigration system requires a tough, fair, and practical program to address the status of unauthorized immigrants, stopping real threats and contingent on bringing accountability to border enforcement programs, providing additional funding for border communities that bear a disproportionate burden in the enforcement of immigration laws, and addressing visa overstays; in order to protect all workers, whether native or foreign-born, it must include an efficient and transparent employment verification system that identifies qualified candidates while penalizing employers who knowingly hire unauthorized immigrants; federal policy must also be designed to develop a guest worker program to respond to the future labor needs of U.S. business by matching willing workers with willing American employers; and

WHEREAS, Recognizing the characteristics that will help build prosperity and strengthen our society, a commonsense road map to earned legal status for unauthorized immigrants would encompass a health and criminal background check, proof of a stable U.S. work history and current employment, and payment of relevant fines and taxes; to gain probationary legal status, individuals would be further required to demonstrate knowledge of English and American civics and go to the back of the same line as those prospective immigrants seeking to come to the United States legally; fairness demands that the system take into account special circumstances surrounding candidates for probationary legal status, such as minors brought to the country as children or agricultural workers whose labor is essential to maintain the food supply; and

WHEREAS, The United States is a nation founded upon respect for the rule of law; national security and our national interests are poorly served by an embattled immigration system, and patchwork attempts to mend its deficiencies undermine our potential for prosperity and leave us ill-prepared to meet the challenges of the modern world; and

WHEREAS, Solutions that provide for blanket amnesty, such as those presented in the Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986, encourage future violations of the law and should be excluded from the panoply of options to be considered by the United States Congress; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas, 1st Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to swiftly enact and fund comprehensive immigration reform that creates both a commonsense road map to earned legal status for some 11 million unauthorized immigrants and a guest worker program that contemplates the future needs of U.S. business, in furtherance of our nation's economic growth and national security; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.