AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The United States of America is a nation of immigrants. The immigrant's story is woven into the social and cultural fabric of this nation.
Our nation requires an immigration system that provides for public safety, national security, economic prosperity, and the wellbeing of all who live and work in the United States.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 is the last major piece of immigration legislation to be passed by the United States Congress. That legislation and subsequent piecemeal reforms fail to adequately address the challenges posed by immigration today.
A January, 2013, poll conducted by the Associated Press shows that 62 percent of Americans support reform of the immigration system. There appears to be a renewed willingness in the United States Congress to reform our immigration system.
An August, 2009, report by the CATO Institute found that immigration reform could lead to a $180 billion gain for United States households. A June, 2012, Fiscal Policy Institute report found that immigrants owned 18 percent of all small businesses in the United States in 2010, which was a higher percentage than the immigrant share of the population or labor force. Immigrant owned businesses employed 4.7 million people and had $776 billion in receipts in 2007.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that undocumented immigrants have contributed over $1.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2010 alone. A 2010 report by the Economic Policy Institute found that immigration increased wages of native born workers from 1994 to 2007. A study by The Perryman Group found that Texas would lose $69.3 billion in economic activity, $30.8 billion in gross state product, and approximately 403,000 jobs if all undocumented immigrants were removed from the state.
The 77th Legislature of the State of Texas granted in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants, allowing over 22,000 students to realize their educational goals and contribute to the Texas economy.
The United States requires secure borders to maintain its integrity as a sovereign nation.
RESOLVED
That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby urge the United States Congress to thoughtfully and swiftly enact a comprehensive reform of our immigration system that provides undocumented immigrants a clear path to citizenship, promotes public safety, national security, economic prosperity, and the wellbeing of all those living and working in the United States.
That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, 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 the congress.