83R26486 CBE-D
By: Anchia, Villalba, Hernandez Luna, H.C.R. No. 44
Martinez Fischer
Substitute the following for H.C.R. No. 44:
By: Oliveira C.S.H.C.R. No. 44
HOUSE 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
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.