By Bob Price Texas GOP Vote
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Once again
Texas Republicans show leadership on the issue of immigration reform. Friday night in Fort Worth Texas the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) took a historic step toward finding solutions for our nations broken immigration policies. Since Monday members of the Platform Committee heard testimony from a wide variety of people on the issues of border security and immigration reform. Most nights working until all who wanted to speak were able to do so. The result is a new plank in the platform of the party called
The Texas Solution".
The concept behind this solution is to provide a practical set of guiding conservative principles to define potential solutions to these issues. It then puts the burden of details on the legislators at the state and federal level to create and implement real solutions.
The Texas Solution points out the failure of the federal government to live up to one of its primary constitutional duties - defending the borders of this nation. It recognizes that mass deportation is not an equitable nor practical solution to decades of the governments ignoring the enforcement of immigration law. Nor is amnesty a reasonable or acceptable solution. This is an important step for the party as we continue to
reach out to conservative Hispanics across Texas.
Prior versions of the platform were used by Democrats to create a false impression that Republicans were both anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The plank calls for the federal government to secure the border. It calls for a practical approach to applying technology and manpower to ending the lawlessness that exists along our borders. It demands safety and security for all Americans living along the border and across Texas.
The plank calls on the government to create an effective and secure guest worker program and an update for long outdated Social Security card. The guest worker program should be created in a way that will be self-funding. It would require criminal background checks of all applicants. Applicants applying who have prior immigration offenses would be required to pay a fine. Applicants and their employers would have to prove they can provide adequate health insurance. They would not be entitled to any form of public entitlement programs.
In order for the program to work properly applicants would be issued a biometric identification card that would track all address changes in addition to criminal and civil court appearances. They would also only be allowed to work for employers who properly classify them as employees and who will withhold taxes and match social security taxes.
This is a bold step for the Republican Party of Texas. For several years people across Texas have been working hard to bring the conservative message of the Republican Party to conservative Hispanics around the state particularly in South Texas where the Republican Party is expanding rapidly.
People like
Aaron Pea and
J.M. Lozano have shown the way through their brave decision to switch to the Republican Party.
Candidates like
Adela Garza running for Congress in the newly created 34 District and
Miriam Martinez running for the Texas Legislature are proving voters in South Texas with a real choice in elections in South Texas.
This plank in the platform reflects a consensus of people from a wide variety of backgrounds. These people came together and expressed frustration about the status quo where nothing is being done to move a solution forward. Texas once again leads the way and brings forward a true solution to the long standing problems of border security and illegal immigration.
Thank you to the hard work of individuals such as Norman Adams Art Martinez de Vara Brad Bailey and Nelson Spear for working so tirelessly to get this plank passed!
