Abbott wins politically as Texas loses in reality
Ruling means the state will see no relief from a broken system
There is no reason to tiptoe around this: The Supreme Court’s decision to sit on the sidelines when it comes to President Barack Obama’s immigration executive action is disappointing and flat out wrong. It is clear the justices voted strictly on party lines last week without giving serious consideration to the case in front of them and what the implications will be for the very state leading the litigation.
As you probably know, the court’s tie vote leaves in place an order that blocks Obama from offering badly needed relief to millions of upstanding but undocumented people who are in the United States to work and put food on the table for their families.
Every credible study on the issue — including one done by the state of Texas itself — shows undocumented immigrants are contributing members of society who add billions to our gross domestic product and consume less in gov- ernment services than they pay in tax revenue.
Gov. Greg Abbott started this lawsuit against Texas’ economic and social interests when he was attorney general and continues to tout it now. When will Abbott wake up to the fact that he won his office by more than 20 points and therefore does not need to pander any more to the radical right-wing nativists who want to send all immigrants out of this country? Abbott is aiding those who would undermine the robust economy he consistently brags about.
It really does boggle the mind, but I suppose it reflects the reality of Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
Thanks to the court’s actions demanded by Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, our state will receive no relief from an utterly broken immigration situation. I would say “immigration system,” but it’s hardly a functioning system at all.
Millions of undocumented people who had a ray of hope until last week are now right back where they started. They cannot come out of the shadows, get an ID, pay taxes, receive a driver’s permit and get out from under the thumb of employers who exploit them on a daily basis right here in our community.
Texas has the most to gain from an immigration solution that would relieve our crowded taxpayerfunded emergency rooms, help struggling students, give law enforcement critical assistance with a population too scared to ask for help, and streamline the hiring process for ethical businesses that can’t find enough employees while bandits abuse the least among us.
It is outrageous, and my fellow business leaders need to be ready to fix the
problem at job sites around our state and nation.
Legitimate employers are required to fill out a form called an I-9 when hiring anyone. We’re still using the most easily forged document on the planet, a Social Security card, to verify whether people are in the country legally. There are many ways to skirt the system altogether.
Whydon’t we catch up to this century technologically with a tamper-proof ID card that can only be issued after an extensive background check? We also have an internet-based system called E-Verification where data can be stored and made available to employers.
Those ID cards coupled with the mandated use of E-Verify would give employers the certain knowledge that the applicant is eligible to work and pay taxes. It would also give the workers needed protections from unscrupulous employers who routinely engage in wage theft and completely ignore our wage and hour laws.
Critics say these proposals would be too expensive and difficult to enforce. But think of the tax revenue 11 million individuals would add to our nation’s bottom line. The Department of Homeland Security could be made more efficient by shifting the agency’s emphasis from catching millions of harmless people to actually going after the bad guys who cannot pass background checks.
America is better than this. We have a way, but so far we have had no political will.
Let’s all hope there is serious backlash to the harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric of this election cycle resulting in common sense immigration reform.