Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

You can find economists to substantiate the position of either chamber, but the consensus of most is that, on balance, immigration is good for the country. Immigrants provide scarce labor, which lowers prices in much the same way global trade does.

If Americans hit the books, they'd find an inconvenient truth. The early history of what is now the United States was Spanish, not English, and our denial of this heritage is rooted in age-old stereotypes that still entangle the immigration debate.

Members of the military and their families are prime targets for payday lenders. During the 79th Legislature, Senator Shapleigh passed S.B. 1479, the Texas Soldiers' Payday Protection Act, to protect them from payday-lender practices.

Recently, Republican former Senator David Sibley sent a letter to El Paso Inc. to talk about Senator Shapleigh's record. "Eliot is one of the hardest working members in the Senate," he wrote. "Eliot challenged our thinking about the Border."

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

It was a signature accomplishment of the civil rights movement - the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But last week the nation, while celebrating its freedom, stood shocked and puzzled as House Republicans attempted to torpedo renewal of the Act.

Eight-year-old Luis Carranza's mother brought him into the country in hopes of medical salvation from his cancer. But after she found helpful healthcare and social services in Lubbock, she was deported to Mexico.

A century-old Texas law prohibiting corporations from supporting political candidates was severely weakened when District Judge Mike Lynch threw out an indictment against the Texas Association of Business.

Nationally, the court's ruling might signal the start of far more redistricting, because it upheld the right of a legislature to redraw district lines any time it wishes, not just once a decade after a census is taken.

In today's complex financial environment, increasing the knowledge and skills of borrowers greatly increases their ability to access credit and build capital. Senator Shapleigh is working across the aisle to improve financial literacy in Texas.

The U.S. Supreme Court held on Wednesday, June 28, that 100,000 Hispanic voters were disenfranchised under Tom DeLay's illegal 2003 re-redistricting plan. By a 5-4 vote, the court held that District 23 violated the Voting Rights Act.

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

Nearly 46 million people in America lack health insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the cost to the country adds up to tens of billions of dollars. Directly or indirectly, the states pick up much of this tab.

Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform became a conduit for more than a million dollars from the Mississippi Choctaw to Reed's peration, while Norquist, a close White House ally, took a cut.

A few months ago, strange faxes began arriving at a warehouse in Seattle. The documents were pay stubs, tax statements, medical forms—all sent by Texans applying for state benefit programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and CHIP.

The City's future now depends on how it leverages and invests in "the Five M's" -- medicine, military, movement, manufacturing, and Mexico. For El Paso to succeed, UTEP must lead the way.

Senator Shapleigh's notes and observations will keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes in Austin and El Paso.

In 1991, Benjamin Murillo, a Bowie High School football coach, was stopped by two Border Patrol Agents and had a pistol pointed to his head because of the color of his skin. Today, history is repeating itself on the US-Mexico border.

If you're finding yourself buried under increasing debt; if you're living paycheck to paycheck, fighting to break an endless cycle -- you are not alone. Today, you are likely a part of today's struggling middle class.

The Texas Border region copes with many health-related challenges that other Texans do not face. With this in mind, Senator Shapleigh worked with Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) to create the Texas Border Health Foundation.