Critique of: New Texas Immigration Law Proposed

                The blog post, “New Texas Immigration Law Proposed,” by Angie Avila, is about House Bill 2012. House Bill 2012 proposes to make it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for any job except, what they call “housework.”  Avila believes this bill is unfair to American citizens because the unemployment rate is so high, and illegal immigrants are taking all the jobs. I disagree with this statement. In my opinion, unemployed American citizens do not want to work at the jobs the illegal immigrants are “taking.” Most of the immigrants work construction or in the custodial industry and get paid minimum wage or less if under the table. I believe that illegal immigrants are taking the jobs that Americans do not want to do. I am on unemployment, and I make more money form unemployment benefits, than I would working as a janitor!

                Avila also states that House Bill 2012 would “allow others to look down on Latinos and only think of them for minor labor work.”  I feel like immigrant Latinos are already looked down upon only for minor labor work. For the most part, illegal immigrants usually know very little, if not any, English and cannot work in jobs that require communication. If a Latino is an American citizen, like me, then they would not have to worry about getting a normal job, however there is still racism around the workplace that will probably never go away. Sometimes I feel like people are surprised when I do not have an accent or speak any Spanish. I do, however, agree that the HB2012 will make Latinos being looked down even worse. As Avila put it, “the employer knows that they need that job, and if the employee complains [about harassment], they can replace them with another illegal immigrant right away.

                Avila is concerned about Americanized illegal immigrants who have been in this country for years. She states, “There are also the illegal immigrants who have lived in America most of their life, who have studied here, grown up with the same values as Americans and this bill would completely limit them to do house work since it would be very risky and illegal for someone to hire them.” That I do agree on 100%. There are illegal immigrants who came over here many years ago, and do not have any family in Mexico or do not know anyone in Mexico. This bill would affect them very negatively!

                Immigration is a huge problem in Texas, and if the bill is going to make it illegal for the hiring of illegal immigrants it should make it illegal for all jobs. However, I would propose that the illegal immigrants, that are here now, be made American citizens. Of course there would be certain parameters set to make them eligible for citizenship. Something like, showing proof of residency in America for a certain amount of years, or showing that they have been paying their taxes (even though some have fake SSN’s). Although this is not the perfect plain, it is a lot better than HB2012.

Budget and Guns for College?

                The article “Texas Senate to Tackle Budget, Concealed Carry,” by Melissa Ayala, which I found on the thedailytexan.com, is about a budget bill, for the 2012-2013 biennial, and how the legislatures are “looking for methods of easing the $15 billion to $27 billion budget deficit for the 2012-13 biennium.” The article also covers a bill filed by Sen. Jeff Wentworth “that would allow concealed-handgun license holders to carry on campus.” These two bills will affect the lives of many Texans, particularly Texan students.

                The article state last month, the House passed the budget bill, “which included major cuts to education and health care,” and that “last week, the Senate Committee on Finance passed its version, which restores some of that funding.” I hope that the Senate is coming to their senses and realizing that education for Texans is very important. The Senate bill version will decrease the funding cut by about $12 million less than the House version of the bill. The bill is likely to pass, but the only debate is that it will reach into the Rainy Day Fund to fill the $12 million funding that is not going to be cut. I understand that they would like the money to stay in the Rainy Day Fund, for something that is really important, but what is that saying about Texas higher education?

                Now, switching over the Concealed Carry on campus issue the article covers. “Wentworth surprised senators when he proposed an amendment to allow concealed carry on campus during debate for the higher education bill.” The higher education bill would lower tuition fees, but apparently Sen. Judith Zaffirini, who introduced the bill, does not agree with Wentworth’s Concealed Carry amendment bill, and will kill her bill “if he is able to successfully pass his amendment.”  I would like to see the Concealed Carry on campus bill pass; there are only about 2% of Texans who have Concealed Carry licenses and I do not believe that it would make higher education institutions more dangerous. I would also like to see the Higher Education bill pass, because lower tuition fees would really help out the millions of college student in Texas.  I hope that they will consider what is best for the students, and not their personal views.