Swinford keeps Texas out of immigration fight
Publication Date: 05/05/07
Column: David Almager
DALLAS - With only weeks remaining in the 80th Legislature, who would have predicted that a conservative Republican would have taken the lead to quash the anti-immigration crowd's hopes of passing some of the most divisive anti-immigrant measures ever introduced in the Texas Legislature?
The slew of bills filed this session were set to impose an assortment of restrictions and sanctions on undocumented immigrants, from denial of health care, education and other benefits for children born in Texas to undocumented immigrants, to sanctioning greater enforcement of federal immigration violations by local and state law enforcement agencies.
Although some anti-immigration bills have made their way to the House floor for a vote, the House State Affairs Committee, stacked by mostly conservative Republicans and led by Chairman David Swinford, R-Dumas, have given the majority of the
anti-immigration proposal a swift thumbs-down, noting that the issue of immigration reform belongs to the federal government and is not a function of the state Legislature.
The dismissal of such bills came after Swinford sought advice from Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott, who concluded that most of the bills were unconstitutional and would not survive a court challenge.
Another significant player in the Texas immigration debate was the business community, which clearly has grown to understand the important contribution that immigrant workers have made to the health of the state's economy and the financial well-being of the business community.
Having lived in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle for the majority of my life, I have seen firsthand the vital role immigrant workers have played in the economy of those regions.
Perhaps Swinford also experienced what I have witnessed for the past several decades.
As a businessman with years of experience in the agriculture industry, it would be difficult for Swinford not to notice the modern-day agriculture workers within District 87.
It also would be difficult for him not to recognize the face of the landscape, construction and fast-food work force employed in the Texas Panhandle today.
But immigration is not a new issue to Swinford.
District 87 is positioned in the northern part of the Texas Panhandle and is a major agricultural region and oil producer. It is also the home of thousands of immigrant workers, many of whom work in the agriculture and service industries.
Ironically, located within Swinford's district is the small rural community of Cactus, population 2,000 and home of a Swift & Co. meat-packing plant.
The plant received nationwide notoriety in December 2006 after it was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the largest raid against a single employer, apprehending approximately 300 workers at the plant.
Although he may agree with many of the bills filed - " … (B)eing a right-wing nut, I agree with some of the bills, … but it's a waste of money, and that's not what I was sent (here) for," he noted — Rep. Swinford should be commended for his leadership on this issue.
Latino leaders praised him for avoiding a potentially divisive fight within the Legislature and between the anti-immigration crowd and immigrant advocacy groups.
As the 80th Legislature soon comes to a close, the heated Texas immigration debate will move from Austin to Washington, D.C.
The next big hurdle is whether the U.S. Congress will be brave enough to tackle the important issue at the national level.
Under new leadership, a new perspective about the immigration debate appears to be at hand, but no major reform movement has occurred up to this point.
Those who followed the immigration debate in Austin should become even more involved by encouraging members of Congress to support the passage of comprehensive immigration reform that moves toward fixing the currently broken immigration system in this country.
The voices should be loud and clear: Congress must act now on real immigration reform!
--
David Almager, a former Amarillo resident, lives in Dallas. He is a doctoral candidate at Walden University's School of Public Policy and Administration.
Click here to return to story
© The Amarillo Globe-News Online
Column: David Almager
DALLAS - With only weeks remaining in the 80th Legislature, who would have predicted that a conservative Republican would have taken the lead to quash the anti-immigration crowd's hopes of passing some of the most divisive anti-immigrant measures ever introduced in the Texas Legislature?
The slew of bills filed this session were set to impose an assortment of restrictions and sanctions on undocumented immigrants, from denial of health care, education and other benefits for children born in Texas to undocumented immigrants, to sanctioning greater enforcement of federal immigration violations by local and state law enforcement agencies.
Although some anti-immigration bills have made their way to the House floor for a vote, the House State Affairs Committee, stacked by mostly conservative Republicans and led by Chairman David Swinford, R-Dumas, have given the majority of the
anti-immigration proposal a swift thumbs-down, noting that the issue of immigration reform belongs to the federal government and is not a function of the state Legislature.
The dismissal of such bills came after Swinford sought advice from Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott, who concluded that most of the bills were unconstitutional and would not survive a court challenge.
Another significant player in the Texas immigration debate was the business community, which clearly has grown to understand the important contribution that immigrant workers have made to the health of the state's economy and the financial well-being of the business community.
Having lived in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle for the majority of my life, I have seen firsthand the vital role immigrant workers have played in the economy of those regions.
Perhaps Swinford also experienced what I have witnessed for the past several decades.
As a businessman with years of experience in the agriculture industry, it would be difficult for Swinford not to notice the modern-day agriculture workers within District 87.
It also would be difficult for him not to recognize the face of the landscape, construction and fast-food work force employed in the Texas Panhandle today.
But immigration is not a new issue to Swinford.
District 87 is positioned in the northern part of the Texas Panhandle and is a major agricultural region and oil producer. It is also the home of thousands of immigrant workers, many of whom work in the agriculture and service industries.
Ironically, located within Swinford's district is the small rural community of Cactus, population 2,000 and home of a Swift & Co. meat-packing plant.
The plant received nationwide notoriety in December 2006 after it was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the largest raid against a single employer, apprehending approximately 300 workers at the plant.
Although he may agree with many of the bills filed - " … (B)eing a right-wing nut, I agree with some of the bills, … but it's a waste of money, and that's not what I was sent (here) for," he noted — Rep. Swinford should be commended for his leadership on this issue.
Latino leaders praised him for avoiding a potentially divisive fight within the Legislature and between the anti-immigration crowd and immigrant advocacy groups.
As the 80th Legislature soon comes to a close, the heated Texas immigration debate will move from Austin to Washington, D.C.
The next big hurdle is whether the U.S. Congress will be brave enough to tackle the important issue at the national level.
Under new leadership, a new perspective about the immigration debate appears to be at hand, but no major reform movement has occurred up to this point.
Those who followed the immigration debate in Austin should become even more involved by encouraging members of Congress to support the passage of comprehensive immigration reform that moves toward fixing the currently broken immigration system in this country.
The voices should be loud and clear: Congress must act now on real immigration reform!
--
David Almager, a former Amarillo resident, lives in Dallas. He is a doctoral candidate at Walden University's School of Public Policy and Administration.
Click here to return to story
© The Amarillo Globe-News Online
Labels: American, immigration, Latino, policy, Politics, U.S.