As Congress continues to debate whether to take up comprehensive immigration legislation, some Texas lawmakers hope to get the Legislature to support those efforts.
Reps. Ana Hernandez Luna, D-Houston, and Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, filed a resolution this morning that would “urge Congress to swiftly enact and fund comprehensive immigration reform.”
Anchia says the mood is right in the Texas House to get lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to join their effort.
“Around this time last session there were 50 bills that had been filed related to immigration, most of them punitive,” Anchia said. “And this session there are probably a handful that have been filed. So I think the atmosphere and the mood of the body is right.”
To help entice Republicans to support the resolution, it includes language written by several conservative groups and a resolution offered in 2011 from a Republican lawmaker. The authors say they hope a bipartisan call from a state like Texas will give Congress the boost it needs to tackle the issue.
