Tag Archives: immigration

Sine Die, take two

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The House followed the Senate out the door yesterday, leaving a bit of unfinished business behind. The Senate’s version of a bill to criminalize intrusive pat-downs by federal agents with the Transportation Security Administration has died in the House, after … Continue reading →

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House passes budget after brief meltdown

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For a few brief moments, it looked like we were heading to double overtime, as Republicans voted down their own budget in the House. The Texas House, in a surprise turn of events late Tuesday afternoon, tentatively voted down a … Continue reading →

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How much time will the Lege waste this week on a stunt?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

House Speaker Joe Straus got a little frustrated on Friday. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus unleashed a rare verbal assault Friday on an effort to criminalize invasive searches at airports, assailing legislation supported by Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David … Continue reading →

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Down to the wire for “sanctuary cities”

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s an 11th hour lobbying effort to stop the “sanctuary cities” bill as it is. As two of Texas’ most politically-involved business leaders emerged as opponents, a bill banning “sanctuary cities” lost crucial momentum Friday, raising the possibility the measure … Continue reading →

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The perils of being a single-issue voter

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A new voice is heard against the “sanctuary cities” bill. Several Hispanic, conservative evangelical pastors from around the state spoke out in opposition of the bill. One of them, Gilberto Avila, a pastor from Tyler, testified against the measure on … Continue reading →

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MLB needs to stand by all of its players

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A brief history of baseball’s other color line. There is no Latin American Jackie Robinson, no single Hispanic ballplayer who lifted his people onto his back and crashed through baseball’s racist barricades. But there always has to be a first, … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill passes the Senate

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Once it was added to the call, this became inevitable. Senate Republicans finally passed a priority issue for their party early Wednesday morning when they outmuscled their Democratic colleagues on an immigration-related bill intended to make it easier for law … Continue reading →

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The reason why some anti-immigration legislation didn’t pass this session

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

According to teabagger Rebecca Frost, the problem was too many Hispanic legislators. This is what she had to say at a rally in Austin yesterday: There’s a lot of wind noise that makes it hard to hear exactly what she’s … Continue reading →

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Same schism, next verse

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not surprised that there exist other GOP activists besides the usual Bob Perry/Bill Hammond/business interests types that aren’t happy with their party’s recent anti-immigrant/anti-Hispanic fixation. Nor am I surprised that like their business-oriented counterparts they haven’t figured out what … Continue reading →

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Perry adds “sanctuary cities” to the special session

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I wasn’t sure if this would happen or not. I guess you can never pander to the base too much. Gov. Rick Perry has added controversial immigration and homeland security measures to the agenda for the special legislative session that … Continue reading →

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Chron profile of Rep. Hernandez Luna

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good story. State Rep. Ana Hernandez Luna stood before the House on the afternoon of May 9, hours after lawmakers passed the controversial “sanctuary city” bill, and started reading from a prepared statement, her eyes downcast. “I know House Bill … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the special session

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come back. And with the start of the special session comes a little surprise. Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders hope to move through a series of bills quickly during the special session that begins … Continue reading →

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Senate Dems block “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They did it as they said they would. The state’s contentious sanctuary cities bill failed to move out of the Senate late Tuesday — a move some senators said effectively killed one of the most controversial measures the Texas Legislature … Continue reading →

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Senate Dems say they will block “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is exactly what they should be doing. The twelve Democrats in the Texas Senate signed a letter that they delivered today to their colleagues, vowing to oppose the sanctuary cities bill — a move that could, but not necessarily, … Continue reading →

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Obama and Texas 2012

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jonathan Chait notes that recently the Obama re-election team has said it will put money into Texas, and observes that this is part of a bigger strategy. In the narrow analysis, Texas is a deeply Republican state. Obama lost it … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill lives again

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is why no bill is truly dead until sine die. In another surprise move by the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, made a motion to reconsider a vote the committee took Wednesday that … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill gutted in committee

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t see this coming. In a surprise move that could effectively kill HB 12, the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by … Continue reading →

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I presume making it a capital offense will be next

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans tackle another pressing problem. It’s already a felony for individuals to knowingly vote or try to vote if they are ineligible from doing so for any number or reasons, including being a non-citizen or illegal immigrant. But Republican … Continue reading →

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Hopefully, the “sanctuary cities” bill will be the end of the anti-immigrant crap

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman offers a little hope. The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill received final passage in the Texas House on Tuesday and was on its way to the Senate, but most other immigration measures introduced in the House this session appear … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” ban passes the House

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose we should get used to the phrase “cutting off debate” because that seems to be the norm these days. After taking the unusual and controversial strategy of cutting off debate, the Texas House late Monday voted 99 to … Continue reading →

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Sanctuary cities bill delayed

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another point of order sends another “emergency” bill back to committee. The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill hit a roadblock in the Texas house late Friday when a point of order derailed the legislation and knocked it off the calendar. The … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill on the House calendar

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

According to Somos Tejanos, the so-called “Sanctuary cities” bill HB12 is on the House calendar for Friday, May 6. It had originally been scheduled for Cinco de Mayo, but I guess someone decided the optics of that weren’t so good. … Continue reading →

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MALC files redistricting lawsuit

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is the second lawsuit that has been filed in the state of Texas related to the Census and redistricting. And to think, we don’t even have a map produced by the Redistricting Committee yet. A group of Hispanic lawmakers … Continue reading →

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Interview with Steve Murdock

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Dr. Steve Murdock is a former State Demographer of Texas and director of the US Census, now the founding Director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University. He’s the man to go to if you … Continue reading →

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Republican legislators to support Republican legislation

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the takeaway from this story. The Hispanic Republican Conference has thrown its weight behind the controversial voter ID legislation slated to hit the House floor next week. In a statement released today, the caucus said the issue is essential … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill passes out of House committee

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And another so-called legislative emergency gets voted on. Legislation banning “sanctuary city” policies in Texas was voted out of the House State Affairs Committee today, sending the bill to the full House for consideration. HB12 by Rep. Burt Solomons would … Continue reading →

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Here come the “sanctuary city” bills

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege gets set to tackle another “emergency”. Top state lawmakers filed the latest legislation Wednesday to prohibit so-called sanctuary city policies, saying local governmental bodies would risk losing state grant money if they prohibit enforcement of state or federal … Continue reading →

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The Rodriguez response to “sanctuary cities”

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. Freshman state Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, filed SB 600 on Friday, which would prevent law enforcement from asking the immigration status or nationality of a witness to or victim of a crime “except as necessary … Continue reading →

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KBH says she’ll support a weaker DREAM

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Where were you in December, Senator? Weeks after a hunger strike orchestrated by college students in San Antonio failed to sway her vote on the DREAM Act, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told business leaders Tuesday that she now would work … Continue reading →

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Clergy still pushing for immigration reform

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. Just two days after President Barack Obama renewed a call for immigration reform, a group of Houston religious leaders said Thursday that despite a discouraging political climate, they see signs of change. “I feel the people … Continue reading →

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The cost to cities of being anti-immigrant

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Center for American Progress has a new report out called The High Price of Local Immigration Enforcement that tracks how much various anti-immigrant ordinances in cities like Hazelton, PA, and Farmers Branch have cost them. Most of those costs … Continue reading →

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If you thought voter ID was bad…

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wait till you see what comes next. State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, has made national headlines for his “birther” bill that would require a candidate for president or vice president of the U.S. to show proof of natural-born citizenship to … Continue reading →

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You must obey these laws, but not those laws

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a Chronicle story profiling EPA regional administrator Al Armendariz: That the EPA is picking on Texas, a favorite refrain of the politicians, is an “unfortunate characterization” because the agency works with the state on many issues, ranging from oil … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, border fence

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Long overdue. The Obama administration on Friday canceled the long-troubled, high-tech invisible fence project along the U.S.-Mexico border, ending a five-year, $1 billion pilot program that President George W. Bush envisioned as stretching along most of the 1,969-mile border. Homeland … Continue reading →

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