Legislature shifts gears on immigration

In a recent article in the Austin American Statesman written by the Editorial Board titled "Legislature shifts gears on immigration," they examine the recent changes in political views towards handling the immigration laws. As the author points out, in past years, members have been trying to pass bills cracking down on illegal immigration. Now it seems that they are taking a more open-minded approach to this key topic. Although both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on securing our borders, they are also working on resolutions that help immigrants gain citizenship, rather than being opposed to the idea altogether. 

The author proposes that a more realistic approach to this issue is by encouraging people to enter the country legally for work or study in a variety of methods, instead of relying on an enforcement-only approach to immigration. Here in Texas, we share the majority of the border with Mexico, therefore this issue affects us greatly, arguably more than any other state. We already have millions of immigrants living and working here illegally, so we should take positive steps in helping them gain citizenship, the author suggests. 

I think that this is a logical way of thinking because we’re obviously already dealing with this problem, so we might as well make changes so that it is no longer a problem, but simply just a new way of living. If we make it a little easier for immigrants to gain citizenship, I think it will solve many problems we deal with, especially for businesses that are employing these illegal workers. It will help them get benefits and be covered by the company if a work-related accident happens. I have always felt that we should be welcoming to people who want to live here but I have to say this article didn’t persuade me more because I don’t feel like they used a lot of facts to back their opinion up.

Article: Legislature shifts gears on immigration

Author: Editorial Board

Source: Austin American Statesman

Posted: Feb. 15, 2013

While looking on the Austin Chronicle's website, I found an article posted Feb. 2 titled Bill of the Week: Building a Better Texas. This article discusses the unfair treatment of our construction workers and the bills that will help secure their rights. Texas' construction industry is responsible for 10% of all U.S. construction output. With that being said, we have the highest rate of workers killed due to work related accidents. There is also a lot of shady business going on within some of these companies, like not having workers on payroll which means they don't have to pay taxes on them and it also leaves the worker uncovered by workers comp if they do happen to sustain an injury on site. Now they are trying to propose different bills to ensure the safety of the workers, for instance,  House Bill 475, by Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, would require construction employers to provide workers compensation coverage.