TFRW Issues Statement on Immigration Policy Reform

After much study and consultation with experts, the Texas Federation of Republican Women issued a statement on immigration reform:

Texas Federation of Republican Women- Immigration Reform Policy

Whereas, The Texas Federation of Republican Women appointed a committee to study the issue of immigration, legal and illegal, in the United States and it met this obligation by hearing from and evaluating the positions of experts, recent immigrants, business and land owners, advocates, adversaries and law enforcement;

Whereas, Within the United States there currently reside between nine (9) and fifty (50) million undocumented residents from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and nationalities;

Whereas, Our current immigration policies rely on an antiquated system of geographic quotas and that the federal government has failed to modernize the system with available technology and entrance rubrics that reflect current social, educational and economic requirements and that such an outdated system serves to encourage illegal immigration;

Whereas, The economic, civil and criminal unrest in other countries has had a significant impact on illegal immigration at our borders and the federal government has refused to commit the resources necessary to adequately secure our physical borders;

Whereas, The federal government’s failure to properly secure our borders has led to the unconscionable treatment and death of people entering the United States illegally and the loss of life, liberty and property of American citizens to foreign criminal enterprise;

Whereas, Millions of children brought to this country illegally and who know no country other than America as their home will become adults in this country and, as such, it is in the best interest of these young people and our Nation that they become self-supporting, tax-paying, productive members of our society rather than to allow them to be another disenfranchised generation living in the shadows;

Whereas, We acknowledge the changing demographics of the United States as clearly illustrated by the increased voting strength of minorities and recently naturalized citizens, and the significant role immigrants have played in the history of our country; and

Whereas, The federal government has an urgent obligation to address the issue of immigration in this country; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Texas Federation of Republican Women strongly urges the federal government to expedite the resources necessary to finally secure United States borders;

Resolved, The Texas Federation of Republican Women calls on the federal government to immediately pass legislation and appropriate funds necessary to reform the current immigration system using state-of-the-art technology and create a guest worker program that documents guest workers and their families and requires them to pass health and criminal background checks, to be self-supporting, including the purchase of health and other required insurance, to pay taxes and to demonstrate a working knowledge of English in a reasonable amount of time in order to obtain permanent legal resident status;

and Resolved, The Texas Federation of Republican Women urges the federal government to expeditiously establish criteria for young people in this country illegally through no fault of their own to earn legal resident status or citizenship when they demonstrate English fluency and knowledge of American civics, comply with all health requirements, have no criminal record, graduate from an accredited high school, and pursue a college degree, trade certification or enter into military service.

Adopted by the Texas Federation of Republican Women, this, the 17th day of January