http://www.easttexasreview.com/story.htm?StoryID=3921

Perks for illegal immigrants under scrutiny
by Christine DeLoma / LSR


Confronting the problems created by the influx of illegal immigrants in Texas is no longer just a federal matter.

When state lawmakers return to Austin in January, they will be faced with critical policy issues concerning what role, if any, state
and local law enforcement should play in
immigration enforcement.

Already, Texas is taking an active role in Border security. Gov. Rick Perry’s Border security program, made up of a coalition of county sheriffs and state and local law enforcement, has been in operation for at least a year now targeting crime rings and gangs that try to come across the Mexico-Texas border.

While Border security is one piece of the puzzle in the immigration debate, many believe that it shouldn’t stop at the Border and that the Legislature can do more to address
the problem.

Among areas for action are:

Sanctuary cities

The recent murder of a Houston police officer by an illegal immigrant at a routine traffic stop is one reason, immigration reform proponents say, that Texas needs to prohibit the use of “sanctuary” policies by cities and towns. Such policies turn a blind eye to immigration enforcement and, in the city of Houston’s case, prohibit police from inquiring into one’s citizenship status and from arresting suspects solely on the basis of their being in the country illegally.

The illegal immigrant arrested on the murder charge of Officer Rodney Johnson was deported to Mexico in 1999 after being convicted of indecency with a child. On ABC’s Good Morning America, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the federal government. “If the government had been doing its job at the Border, that is, securing the Border, I think it would have been very difficult – if not impossible – for the individual to get back into this country,” Hurtt said.

Hurtt argues that it is not local law enforcement’s job to apprehend and arrest people who are in this country illegally. “If the Houston Police Department got involved in enforcing illegal immigration law, I would need another 2,500 officers, because it’s anticipated there’s anywhere from between 250,000 to 400,000 undocumented people living in the city of Houston today,” he said.

Hurtt said he would not change HPD’s policies in light of the recent tragedy. The sanctuary policy is so controversial that the Harris County Republican Party is encouraging its members to sign a petition to place the issue on the November ballot
in Houston.

Some Republican lawmakers may introduce legislation next session that would prohibit sanctuary city policies and require local law enforcement officials to report suspected illegal aliens, when arrested, to federal immigration officials. Proposed legislation may also prohibit state and local governments from enacting policies that inhibit cooperation with immigration officials.

Social services

State leaders will also be faced with several questions: Should pregnant illegal immigrants be eligible for taxpayer subsidized prenatal care under the Children’s Health Insurance Program? Should the state allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition at Texas’ public universities?

As of January 1, 2007, illegal immigrant mothers-to-be will be eligible for prenatal healthcare under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Health and Human Services Commissioner Albert Hawkins told lawmakers at a Sept. 19 public hearing of the Senate Health and Human Services committee.

Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) was surprised to hear that illegal immigrants would be eligible. “But if the mother is an illegal immigrant and declares herself as such but says ‘I’m intending to stay here and have my child born in this state,’ — ergo this country — what do we do?” asked Deuell.

“The coverage is provided on behalf of the unborn child, which necessarily involves providing prenatal care to the mother,” Hawkins said. “So that is right, it will be without regard to their citizenship status… There’s not a requirement that the mother be a citizen.”

The future cost to the program associated with its use by pregnant illegal immigrants is unknown. However, the state will be able to draw down more federal dollars by including prenatal services in CHIP (at a 70 percent match rate) than it receives for similar services currently covered under Medicaid (a 60 percent match rate.

The extension of coverage to illegal immigrants to Texas’ CHIP pre-natal program will occur less than six months after the federal Medicaid program began requiring its beneficiaries to provide proof of citizenship in order to receive Medicaid
non-emergency benefits.

In-state tuition for illegal immigrants

Since 2001, some illegal immigrants have had access to in-state tuition, a benefit that most legal immigrants don’t even have. The Legislature passed a law allowing graduates of Texas high schools, or others who have resided in Texas for at least three years, to receive in-state tuition at state universities. While students residing in this country illegally are able to receive in-state tuition and state financial aid (such as the TEXAS Grant program), this is a privilege not extended to residents of other states.

Immigrants without residency must sign an affidavit pledging to apply for permanent residency as soon as they are eligible to do so. Those with applications for residency pending before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are also eligible. However, holders of student visas are not eligible for resident status, since the visa is granted only to those whose permanent residence is elsewhere. Hence, an immigrant who gets a visa and remains in the U.S. legally will often be charged out-of-state tuition, whereas an immigrant who stays in the U.S. illegally will get the lower, in-state tuition. The cost to the state for that subsidy alone is $34.5 million a year.

Border security

As the debate over immigration reform stalls in Congress, Border states like Texas, New Mexico and California, cannot rely exclusively on the federal government to address crime along the Border. Gov. Rick Perry would like to expand his Border security program. He announced earlier this year he would recommend the Legislature approve $100 million in 2007 to fund Border security operations over
two years.

“The fact is,” Perry said recently, “the state of Texas should not have to expend the amount of money that we’re expending today to secure our Border. That’s a federal responsibility. But on the other hand, we can’t sit and wait for Washington to act while we have drugs being smuggled across the Border, kidnappings, murder, extortion [and] other violent crimes that are being committed on our citizens.”

Voter identification

While strictly not an immigration issue, requiring identification in order to vote is another issue that may reappear in the next legislative session. Rep. Mary Denny (R-Aubrey) unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation in 2005 that would have required voters to use their driver’s licenses at
the polls.

Some Democrats equated the measure with a “poll tax” and said it would intimidate voters.

Denny’s proposal would have allowed individuals without driver’s licenses to obtain a state photo identification card free of charge.

A voter appearing at the polls without a photo ID could have submitted two forms of non-photo ID such as a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, or an official government document showing the name and address of the voter.

The proposal failed in the Legislature, but last year’s nonpartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, headed by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, III issued similar voter ID recommendations that may renew the debate in Washington and in Texas.