State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (via)
Today, Democratic lieutenant governor candidate and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte added her own set of immigration and border security policy proposals to the growing mix of ideas addressing the child refugee crisis on the border.
In her plan titled “Securing the border and Texas’ economic future” Texas First Immigration Proposals, Van de Putte calls for a “Texas solution” to the growing crisis–one that would require cooperation and collaboration between federal and state leaders. The list of proposals includes:
- More state money for border security (Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Texas House Speaker Joe Straus have already approved an additional $1.3 million per week in state spending for DPS law enforcement operations);
- Supporting a Texas temporary guest worker program and the Texas Dream Act;
- Ensuring that border security officials can “focus on catching criminals, not kids;”
- Addressing the overall human trafficking crisis, which Van de Putte has already made a priority over the last several legislative sessions.
“Texas has a rich history of immigration, losing sight of that jeopardizes our economic future. We put Texas first when we put the rhetoric aside, honor our history, and empower Texas to be globally competitive,” Van de Putte said in a press release. She also noted her plan would fund “Texas’ responsibility to secure our communities, cracks down on criminals, holds Washington, D.C. to task, and supports economic initiatives that work.”
Van de Putte’s proposal comes on the same day that Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-TX28, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn filed legislation that would essentially make it easier to deport of thousands of unaccompanied Central American children crossing the border. Also on the federal level today, a group of Congressional Republicans, led by Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger, R-TX12, announced plans to recommend their own set of policies, including sending the National Guard to the border and amending a 2008 human trafficking law to make deportations easier.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2014.