Thread: TX: Immigration, not surprisingly, is talk of the tour

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ts_com ... 1_0_10_0_C

Immigration, not surprisingly, is talk of the tour
By Michael Barnett
The Monitor
Jan 21, 2007

MISSION — The immigration conundrum played out Saturday morning on the packaging floor of Rio Queen Citrus.



On one end stood dozens of men and women working furiously to pack up recently picked grapefruit; on the other end were representatives and senators from across the state on a four-day tour of the Rio Grande Valley.

Rio Queen Citrus managers said the state has certified the workers as legal, but they cautioned that they were not immigration authorities and therefore could not verify that certification.

Yet in the absence of federal decisiveness on immigration reform, the state’s lawmakers are being asked to take action on an issue that could affect businesses like Rio Queen Citrus, a produce exporter. In the Legislature’s current session, lawmakers have filed at least a dozen immigration bills covering everything from health care to employer restrictions to a tax on money wired abroad.

“There’s so much pressure from the public,” said Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who represents four counties in East Texas. “They don’t want to hear that it’s a federal issue.”

With such pressure, it’s not a surprise that the Valley is seeking to influence lawmakers taking the four-day tour, which is sponsored by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. The regional chamber of commerce has sponsored the trip during legislative sessions since 1975.

Although the tour is intended to show lawmakers all the Valley has to offer — from food to culture to industry — local representatives are seeking to drive home their message that overly restrictive immigration laws would undermine the area’s economic success. And in the Valley, six hours south of polarizing Austin, legislators seemed more congenial and impressionable.

“It’s all we’ve talked about,” said Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg. “At every stop — even at places where you think we couldn’t have talked about immigration — we talked about immigration. I think we’ve already changed some minds.”

Others were not as optimistic.

“I don’t know if it’ll change people’s minds, but it’ll make them a lot more understanding,” said Rep. Juan Manuel Escobar, D-Kingsville, a former Starr County sheriff’s deputy and U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Some Democratic and Republican legislators on the trip said privately that it would be difficult to go against the wishes of their constituents, who are concerned by undocumented immigrants’ strain on government services. Others said the Valley would still enjoy success even if some restrictions were enacted.

Regardless of whether their minds had been swayed on immigration, legislators said their tour has been educational. Many said they had been to the Valley before.

“The issues are the same,” said Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston. “At the end of the day, I don’t care whether you’re from Cameron County or Harris County. You care about the same things.”

On Saturday, their third day on the tour, about 20 representatives and senators took in breakfast and a slideshow presentation at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg.

Following their visit to Rio Queen Citrus in Mission, which ended with bags full of grapefruit for everyone, they lunched in Rio Grande City. On Saturday night, they were scheduled to attend a dinner at Angel’s Restaurant near the Progreso International Bridge.

Shuttling between tour stops, the legislators’ bus received a police escort — something they said is usually reserved for the governor.

“This is real different for us,” Hughes said. “We don’t get this kind of treatment in Austin.”

Following their visit to Rio Queen Citrus in Mission, which ended with bags full of grapefruit for everyone, they lunched in Rio Grande City.

Hmmm...........great lobbying effort created to sway the opinion of state legislatures and a couple bags of grapefruit to boot - can't beat that.