TEXAS STATE REP. FILES BILL TO END IN-STATE TUITION FOR ILLEGALS
TEXAS STATE REP. FILES BILL TO END IN-STATE TUITION FOR ILLEGALS
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by SARAH RUMPF
10 Nov 2014
AUSTIN, Texas -- Monday was the first day which Texas legislators could file bills for consideration during the 2015 Legislative Session, and as per tradition, some of the first bills filed seem destined to be among the most buzzworthy. One such bill is HB 209, filed by Representative Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford), which would revoke the 2001 law that granted in-state tuition at Texas universities to illegal immigrant students by including in the definition of "resident" for tuition purposes those who had lived in Texas at least three years and had a Texas high school diploma or GED equivalent, provided that they sign an affidavit that they intend to apply for permanent residency status as soon as they could.
While the original law passed in 2001 by an overwhelming majority -- only four total dissenting votes in both chambers of the Legislature -- support for the law plummeted in the years that followed, as the requirement that the students apply for permanent residency proved impracticable to enforce and the law became viewed as one of the"magnets" attracting illegal immigrants to Texas. Governor Rick Perry has been unwavering in his support for the law, despite being the target of sharp criticism from his Republican primary opponents during the 2012 Presidential race and, more recently, from conservatives concerned about the border crisis. (Rick Perry fell from first place to last place in the 2012 GOP primary for President due to his support for in-state tuition for illegals which is opposed by approximately 80% of Americans according to polls)
Stickland's bill simply deletes the language that the 2001 bill added to Section 54.052 of the Texas Education Code, returning the definition of "resident" to American citizens who have established and maintained a domicile in Texas for at least a year. In a phone interview with Breitbart Texas on Monday afternoon, Stickland said that HB 209 was the result of "a campaign promise that I made over a year ago, that I would file this bill on day one."
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/11/10/Texas-State-Rep-Files-Bill-to-End-In-State-Tuition-for-Illegals
TEXAS GRASSROOTS ACTIVISTS PUSH TO END IN-STATE TUITION FOR ILLEGALS
TEXAS GRASSROOTS ACTIVISTS PUSH TO END IN-STATE TUITION FOR ILLEGALS
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by SARAH RUMPF
12 Nov 2014, 5:20 AM PDT 4POST A COMMENT
AUSTIN, Texas -- On the first day of bill filing for the 84th Legislative Session, Texas State Representative Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) filed HB 209, which would repeal a 2001 law allowing illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition at Texas universities if they met certain criteria. The legislation was cheered by conservative grassroots activists, who have longopposed allowing illegal immigrants to pay the lower in-state tuition rates charged to Texas residents as one of the "magnets" that creates incentives for people to illegally cross the border.
As Breitbart Texas reported on Monday, Stickland, who was reelected last Tuesday, filed HB 209 to fulfill a campaign promise he had made that he would "file this bill on day one." Stickland told Breitbart Texas that "the idea that we would treat someone who is here illegally better than someone who is here from Oklahoma is atrocious." In announcing the bill, Stickland posted a tweet saying that it was "time to put Texas kids first."
JoAnn Fleming, the executive director of Grassroots America, applauded Stickland "for keeping his word" and told Breitbart Texas that granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants was "just one example of how the rule of law has been undermined by elected officials to the point where we have chaos in our nation and folks who believe they 'deserve' special treatment," adding, "it's time our state officials put Texas citizens and legal residents first." Fleming continued, "To give illegal aliens preferential treatment over American citizens is a slap in the face, and the American people are just fed up with it. Last Tuesday's elections proved what we already knew -- Texans want our southern border with Mexico truly secured and the social enticements to illegal aliens to end."
Fleming also told Breitbart Texas that her organization would be including HB 209 among the bills that they would be monitoring and grading legislators for how they vote during the upcoming legislative session.
Alice Linahan, Vice President of Women on the Wall, told Breitbart Texas that she was "happy to see Representative Stickland following through with legislative action after listening to his constituents on the campaign trail." The issue, according to Linahan, is about the "27 million Texans" who live in this state. "We actually matter," said Linahan, and she deemed Stickland the kind of elected official who "doesn't just talk the talk, but actually walks the walk."
Even among those who might not be in favor of HB 209, Stickland's honoring of his campaign promise was acknowledged. Quorum Report's Scott Braddock tweeted, "Let it never be said that [Stickland] is not a man of his word."
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/11/12/Texas-Grassroots-Activists-Push-to-End-In-State-Tuition-for-Illegals
