Immigration forum to be Friday at UT Dallas

09:13 PM CST on Tuesday, January 29, 2008
From staff reports

The Texas House committees on corrections and county affairs will have a joint fact-finding hearing on immigration and the Texas corrections system from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday in Richardson. The public is invited to give testimony at the hearing at the University of Texas at Dallas conference center, 800 W. Campbell Road.

Among the issues explored will be how Texas prisons, local jails and county probation departments deal with illegal immigrants and deportations. A central point of tension is likely to be the role of local and state authorities in immigration issues that generally involve federal immigration law but draw from state and local budgets.

Immigration is the "most emotional issue" in public policy debate now, said state Rep. Jerry Madden, a Richardson Republican who chairs the corrections committee.

Dianne SolĂ*s

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