Texas lawmakers revive push for new immigration laws
By ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press
Jan. 4, 2009, 10:23AM

DALLAS — Some state lawmakers want to revive immigration discussions by proposing more than a dozen bills that among other things would punish employers for hiring unauthorized workers, challenge the U.S. citizenship of immigrants’ U.S-born children and reverse a Texas law that allows undocumented college students to pay in-state tuition.

Other bills filed for the 2009 Legislature would require public schools to maintain records on students’ immigration status, impose a fee on money wired to Latin America, require identification from voters at the polls, prohibit parole for illegal immigrants and create a state criminal trespassing charge for illegal immigrants enforced by local police.

Several of the proposals are similar to ones introduced in the last session but failed to make it out of committee because they were considered unconstitutional.

“I think in some ways, they follow an old pattern. A lot of bills will be introduced,â€