By Texas State Rep. Roberto R. Alonzo District 104 Dallas
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas It is no secret that the State of Texas is facing what many predict to be a budget crisis of anywhere between $22 and $27 billion dollars during the next two years as lawmakers open their biennial 140-day Legislative Session in Austin. To add a contrived & politically charged concern like Sanctuary Cities to a list of legitimate issues will irreparably complicate efforts to plug a generational budget hole.
Media coverage of the burgeoning fiscal crisis stands in sharp contrast to the rosy predictions former comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn gave our GOP leadership four short years ago. Although Texas has weathered the economic storm better than most other states the seeds for this current fiscal crisis were planted years ago under successive GOP leadership.
There is no doubt that the 2011 session will present us with a formidable budget shortfall meaning simply that we will have to tighten our belts in most areas of state government. This includes programs that impact the lives of all Texans every day regardless of political stripe or geographical location.
Considering the historically challenging budget facing our state I found it rather astonishing that on opening day of the 82nd Legislative Session our longtime governor Rick Perry chose to designate so called Sanctuary Cities as a matter of legislative emergency.
To even approach this discussion as a rational argument one must move beyond the fact that there remains no clear definition of what constitutes a
sanctuary city. One must also draw an imaginary distinction between the
policies of our various municipal and local police forces and those of our
Department of Public Safety which rightly leaves enforcement of immigration policies where they belong - at the federal government level.
These glaring technicalities aside for the Governor to choose this matter as an emergency issue flies in the face of what is truly important to Texans and needlessly distracts the Legislature from its constitutional mandate to pass a balanced budget.
I am of the firm belief that we as state lawmakers cannot and should not insist that our city county and state law enforcement agencies simply become immigration officials overnight. These agencies are already stretched razor thin operating with limited and precious funding for their primary objectives.
Law enforcement officials across the state have consistently made it clear they dont seek nor do they have the resources and manpower to enforce immigration laws or ask about immigration status in part to encourage people to report crimes and work with police in reducing crime keeping our neighborhoods safe and providing the public safety they are trained to do for all communities at large.
As the governor may or may not be aware there is absolutely no extra funding available for our local police departments. To add immigration enforcement to the already long list of responsibilities assigned to our states
peace officers puts all Texans at risk; even more so when this new responsibility comes with zero financial support.
Session after session some of my colleagues insist in taking new aim at immigration reform issues that I believe can be better addressed if left primarily at the hands of our federal government. We as policymakers must do our part to provide the necessary input to reform immigration once and for all.
Antagonizing the federal government and alienating entire segments of our states population is ultimately counterproductive to this process especially for the sake of short term political gain as our governor appears to remain in campaign mode presumably in pursuit of a higher office he so publicly derides.
I cannot put it into much simpler terms but to continue to remind some of my colleagues that immigration reform is and should continue to be a federal issue and asking our city county and even state law enforcement agencies to become federal immigration officials is simply asking too much of them. We have more important state business to take care of if we are to be competitive with other states nationally and the international market globally.
Texas has some incredible challenges when it comes to such important issues as adequate teacher pay woeful high school and college graduation rates adequate health care coverage for our children financial aid for our college students and an economy that remains on the edge. To add a contrived and politically charged concern like sanctuary cities to this list of legitimate issues will irreparably complicate mine and my colleagues efforts to plug a generational budget hole while still offering those services Texans rely upon.
I sincerely hope our governor should he ever decide to get to the business for which he was elected will agree.
Rep. Alonzo represents House District 104 in the southwest Dallas area. He is a member of the House Higher Education Committee and the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence.
