| 1 | 1 | | 86R24000 KSM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 154 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, In an increasingly complex global economy, |
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| 7 | 7 | | transnational labor mobility is crucial to the prosperity of the |
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| 8 | 8 | | United States, but our rigid, outmoded immigration policies are |
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| 9 | 9 | | making it difficult for the nation to compete; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, The United States Congress last enacted major |
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| 11 | 11 | | immigration legislation more than a quarter century ago; since that |
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| 12 | 12 | | time, piecemeal attempts at reform have failed to create the kind of |
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| 13 | 13 | | rational and effective system we need to maintain competitiveness, |
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| 14 | 14 | | whether in industries like agriculture, construction, and |
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| 15 | 15 | | manufacturing, which require large numbers of workers able to |
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| 16 | 16 | | perform physically demanding tasks, or in technology, where there |
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| 17 | 17 | | is increasing demand for employees with advanced degrees in math |
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| 18 | 18 | | and science; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, The U.S. is home to millions of unauthorized |
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| 20 | 20 | | immigrants, including children brought to this country illegally |
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| 21 | 21 | | who have grown up here and know no other home; a commonsense road |
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| 22 | 22 | | map to earned legal status for these residents would create |
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| 23 | 23 | | additional tax revenue and stimulate the economy by allowing them |
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| 24 | 24 | | to open bank accounts, obtain college degrees, buy homes, establish |
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| 25 | 25 | | new American companies, and create jobs; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, A rational overhaul of the immigration system |
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| 27 | 27 | | requires a tough, fair, and practical program to address the status |
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| 28 | 28 | | of unauthorized immigrants, stopping real threats and contingent on |
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| 29 | 29 | | bringing accountability to border enforcement programs, providing |
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| 30 | 30 | | additional funding for border communities that bear a |
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| 31 | 31 | | disproportionate burden in the enforcement of immigration laws, and |
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| 32 | 32 | | addressing visa overstays; federal policy must also be designed to |
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| 33 | 33 | | develop a guest worker program to respond to the future labor needs |
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| 34 | 34 | | of U.S. business by matching willing workers with willing American |
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| 35 | 35 | | employers; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, National security and our national interests are |
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| 37 | 37 | | poorly served by an embattled immigration system, and patchwork |
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| 38 | 38 | | attempts to mend its deficiencies undermine our potential for |
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| 39 | 39 | | prosperity and leave us ill-prepared to meet the challenges of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | modern world; now, therefore, be it |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 42 | 42 | | hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass |
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| 43 | 43 | | comprehensive immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship |
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| 44 | 44 | | for undocumented immigrants; and, be it further |
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| 45 | 45 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 46 | 46 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 47 | 47 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 48 | 48 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 49 | 49 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 50 | 50 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 51 | 51 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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