Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN - State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, released a 54-page report Thursday that he believes best addresses the challenges and opportunities of immigration for Texas over the next biennium.

Shapleigh said “Texas Borderlands: Lifting the Lamp Beside Texas' Door” counters the “myths and misrepresentations” surrounding the state’s immigrant population, which is believed to be around 1.4 million.

“Texas has the most to gain from a positive relationship with our largest trading partner,” Shapleigh said, in reference to Mexico.

Shapleigh releases an updated Texas Borderlands report ahead of each legislative session, This year's report comes on the heels of a new report by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn that shows how undocumented immigrants added $17.7 billion to the gross state product in 2005.

Shapleigh said that for Texas to move forward on immigration, its values and principles must be clear. He said his report focuses on five key points that lawmakers ought to consider during discussions on immigration and border security legislation during the 80th Legislature.

“First, immigration is a federal issue,” Shapleigh said. “The U.S. Constitution grants the federal government powers over foreign affairs, citizenship, war and other areas related to immigration. A state-created patchwork of immigration laws and enforcement will be inconsistent, incompatible, and unevenly enforced.”

Secondly, Shapleigh said, immigration enforcement costs must be paid by the federal government. “Why should state taxpayers bear the burden of a federal obligation?” Shapleigh asked.

“Our priorities in Texas should include education, healthcare, infrastructure and criminal justice – areas already challenged,” Shapleigh said.

“Instead of shifting the costs of federal government to Texas taxpayers, Governor Perry’s $100 million should go to fund TEXAS Grants, a program to help Texas children get a college education.”

The third important point to remember, Shapleigh said, was that the U.S. Constitution protects all Texans from unreasonable search, seizure and detention.

Shapleigh pointed out that in 1992, in the landmark El Paso case, Murillo v. Musegades, the court held that “the stopping, questioning, detaining, frisking, arresting, and searching of individuals based solely upon racial and ethnic appearance reprehensibly violates the Fifth Amendment.”

Shapleigh said that too often, “local immigration enforcement becomes racial profiling, where a segment of our society is targeted merely because of the color of their skin.”

The fourth key point, Shapleigh said, was that private sector employees and state workers should not be turned into immigration agents. “Private sector employees and state workers do not possess the resources, time, nor expertise to enforce federal immigration law,” he said.

Shapleigh said that making community-based workers such as teachers, nurses and police officers immigration agents undermines their ability to build the necessary trust, skills, and opportunities they need in the communities where they work and live.

Shapleigh pointed out that nearly every major city police chief was already on record against local enforcement of immigration laws.

The fifth key point, Shapleigh said, was that Texas deserves a “fair and comprehensive” federal immigration framework that meets the emerging economic needs of 21st Century America.

“Mexico is Texas’ greatest trading partner, with more than $50 billion in Texas exports in 2005,” Shapleigh pointed out.

“Furthermore, almost all experts agree our economy needs immigrant labor for the emerging technology, construction, service, and agriculture jobs of the future. The federal government must pass fair and comprehensive immigration policies that meet basic economic needs of 21st Century America.”

Shapleigh said that as the legislative session draws closer he would be filing a package of bills to define a “proactive, positive vision of Texas immigration policies.”

Shapleigh said that state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, chair of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, would be co-authoring some of those bills, including one that requires accountability for any funds sent to law enforcement agencies for border security efforts.

The two border leaders would also be filing legislation to ensure that first responders focus on providing essential public safety services and avoid taking on the role of unofficial immigration agents, Shapleigh said.

Strayhorn’s report, titled “Undocumented Immigrants in Texas: A Financial Analysis of the Impact to the State Budget and Economy,” says undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues in 2005, exceeding the $1.16 billion in state services they received.

However, Strayhorn’s report also pointed out that local government bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs in 2005. Those costs were not covered by the state.

At a conference on immigration last week, Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond said he wanted the federal government to compensate local governments for the cost incurred with undocumented immigrants.

“In terms of tax revenues, the federal government is reaping the reward and the local governments are paying the price. That’s wrong and I think there could be a mechanism to correct that. We urge them to look at it.”