Texas Immigration Bill Mirrors Arizona Bill
November 10, 2010
Contact: Lizette Jenness Olmos, (202) 833-6130 ext. 16
Washington, DC –The League of United Latin American Citizens will continue to protest any Texas bills that resemble Arizona SB 1070.
“Representative Riddle’s filing of these bills will only add to the current Texas budget deficit,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “Texas has long been a state where common sense prevails over grandstanding and legislative extremes of any sort have almost been defeated. The Texas taxpayers expect better. Copycatting other legislation only illustrates a lack of vision on her part.”
State Representative Debbie Riddle filed several bills, similar to that of the Arizona immigration law. The first bill out of the chute was mandating that voters present a photo identification in order to cast a ballot. The other bills deal with clamp downs on undocumented immigrants, including an Arizona-type law and prohibiting sanctuary cities. Both proposals deal with encouraging law enforcement to inquire about the immigration status of those stopped for routine and other policing matters. Another bill would allow a police officer to arrest a person who he or she believes has committed an offense without a warrant. Before making that arrest, the officer must receive confirmation from ICE that the person is illegally in the United States.
The bill is similar to Arizona's, which would give state and local officers the ability to ask for proof of citizenship and arrest illegal immigrants if warranted.
Representative Riddle also filed eight other house bills including H-B 16 which would require a voter to provide additional identification before they would be allowed to vote.
The first 15 bills of any session are reserved for the priority subjects set by the speaker, so Riddle's voter ID bill carries the number HB 16. The lower number of a House bill doesn't provide special consideration, but is used for symbolic purposes.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is currently examining the Arizona law after much of it was ruled unconstitutional by a lower court.
Seven other House bills that Riddle filed on Monday include:
• HB 18, imposing sanctions for municipalities that allow "sanctuary cities"
• HB 19, which seeks to imprison unlicensed drivers who cause serious accidents
• HJR 16 and HB 23, which allow counties to set their own appraisal caps
• HB 21, requiring all state agencies to determine and report their costs related to illegal aliens
• HB 22, requiring school districts to report the number of illegal aliens attending their schools
• HB 20, increasing the penalty for burglary of a motor vehicle to a state jail felon
The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating through 880 LULAC councils nationwide.
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