Texans Want Tighter Controls on Immigration
Texans narrowly oppose a "pathway to citizenship" for illegal immigrants, strongly favor an end to in-state tuition for non-citizens, would support a constitutional "English-only" amendment and overwhelmingly say businesses should verify the immigration status of their workers, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
More than half (58 percent) say they would support an end to bilingual education in Texas public schools. Attempts to put an "English-only" amendment into the Texas Constitution have failed for years, getting bogged down in the Legislature before ever being put to a public vote, but 68 percent of the registered voters ...
Comments (19)
Leo Bailey via Texas Tribune on Facebook
bring it on!
Luis Vela Guevara via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Results from this poll are not all that surprising given the nativism embedded in the DNA of Texas. No doubt political hacks will try to make immigration and the changing face of Texas into a partisan issue to bolster their specific political ambitions--Berman and Riddle are at the top of that list.
Joe Estep via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Beyond, "restless". they are PO´d.
Margaret Lalk via Texas Tribune on Facebook
What are they so PO'd about? How are English speakers hurt, or even inconvenienced, by signs and documents in multiple languages? How is anyone's child hurt by going to a school where children are taught in several languages? If anything, all young children should be in immersion classes in other languages, Spanish or French or Chinese - it helps brain development. Is all this basically hostility toward "the other"?
Adrian Juarez
The methodology of these polls must be flawed. There is no way that every poll has a tendency to "bend" to the right given that all of border Texas, urban Dallas & Travis County are pretty much liberal.
Dolores Morales via Texas Tribune on Facebook
You go Margaret!
Leslie Marsh Ragland via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Amen, Margaret!
Ray Grasshoff via Texas Tribune on Facebook
And back in the day, Ben Franklin was worried about an influx of immigrant Germans too, and wondering if they would ever learn English and otherwise assimilate.
Patrick Fortner via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Old Ben didn't have to worry about my great-great grandparents -- when they came to America, he insisted that his entire family learn English.
Joe Estep via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Margaret, ESL classes are fine, once they learn the language they can all go to class together, that way they all feel like part of the same group, therefore there is no "other". The inconvenience is the cost, the segregation and the fact that the US is an English speaking country. They should be able to master the language so that they have a chance to enter a university. On top of that, English is about as close as the world has come to having an international language. The local school board can decide on how to pay for it.
I and my children are all bilingual, Spanish-English. so I agree with you on that point. No hostility on my part, just realistic and want what´s best for the kids.
@Luis read a bit of history, Texans have the right to be proud of the DNA that they carry. My family goes back to the days of the Republic on one side and on the other pre-Civil War. Or you could just read this book. http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-History-Texas-Texans/dp/0306809427 I like it because my great-great uncle and his mom are mentioned in it in a description of an Indian attack on their farm.
In it the author makes a somewhat tongue in cheek comment that Texans were on their way to becoming a separate race, due to natural selection forces. I prefer to think of us as being of a different and superior species. LOL
Lib Grimmett via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Look - bottom line for me is you are either and American or you are not! If your allegiance is to another country, in this case, Mexico, go home and make it work there - change the face of your country but don't come over here illegally and expect me to have any sympathy for your percieved plight. You don't belong here if you are illegal. Americans have every right to expect allegiance to this great nation. We are the world's last hope!! When I was growing up, no one coddled the spanish speaking element in our schools and they became what they should have become - proud Americans. These illegals are draining our state and we can't afford it any more. The have a moral responsibility to do the right thing - go home and apply the correct way or pay the consequences.
Melody Simon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I've worked with a TON of illegal immigrants in my career. Some have been in the country for more than 20 years and don't speak a lick of English. They don't have to ever learn our language - we don't require them to.
My ex is a German. He was forced to learn English at school, yet spoke German at home. Now he is bilingual and doesn't speak with an accent in either language. So why can't we do that with Hispanics? No one's telling them they can't speak it at home.
Melody Simon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Lib, your response is so full of opinions masked as facts. Nobody has a moral responsibility to do anything. Can you really assert that all Hispanics in your school became "proud Americans?" Really? I'm not always proud to be an American and guess what? That makes me no less an American than you. And where is this great expectation of sympathy from you?
At one point in time, my blood line, your blood line and every person's blood line living in this country pledged allegiance to another country. We were ALL illegals at some point in time. I'm not advocating open borders, but your post is so extremely ignorant of American and Texan history (FYI - we stole this state from Mexico).
Leave the vitriole at home and then someone might give credence to your assertions.
Patsy Roggenbuck via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I like what Lib G. said, it says it all!
Dave MacDonald via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I take exception to the comment about all bloodlines were at one time illegals. this is absolutely untrue. Many immigrants, in fact most, including Latinos immigrated legally.
I wonder if a poll were taken, how many oppose free education for illegals, and how many would support amending the constitution to deny automatic citizenship to offspring of illegals?
As for stealing this state from Mexico, that is an urban myth. Texas was granted tract by tract to Americans, and When Generalisimo Santa Ana tried to cancel the grants due to political change he was defeated by my ancestors.
think
The History Channel just had a show on yesterday or the day before talking about how New Mexico and Texas and California originally were Mexicos. It also talked about how various states got their borders.
Texas was so far in debt it after the American immigrants from non latin origins decided to take it and make it independent from Mexico. They fought and eventually succeeded in taking Texas from Mexico. Due to huge debt they decided join the United States so Congress could pay down that debt..
The anglo immigrants who decided to take land from Indians, Mexican etc have a lot of amnesia regarding how it became GOP redneck type state.
New Mexico was Mexicos until it split with Mexico. The Hispanics there aren't illegals . They were there for generations to begin with.
Granted there are illegals who should be immigrating the legal route, there is a whole other side that is more at fault for equal illegal activity i.e. employers.
Offering English, Spanish, French, German as a class is good, but the entire day taught in ones native tongue other than English is a bit much though.
People who are here illegally at universities are not that high. Most get education visas right off the bat. If you want to go to school just get in compliance, or make enrollment dependent on also getting a visa for studies. This debate is just taking on a negative racist tone unnecessarily.
Americans who go to other countries don't get automatic citizenship if they have kids there. No one grants automatic citzenship except the US. People can be born here maybe just keep citizenship from parents country. Doesn't mean people have to resort to mud slinging and derogatory remarks.
think
The story quotes a business rep as saying he didn't think that business should be enforcing immigration. That is part of the problem.
They don't want to bother being in compliance with immigration laws. How does any business hire someone without putting them on the payroll and deducting employment taxes? It is a basic preliminary procedure. But, hey, business can't be bothered because they can get away with not reporting, deducting taxes and employee protection laws.
Texas needs a business ethics, rules and practices overhaul not just rig the political system to go do what they want and let the scape goats get the brunt of it.
Mary Lynn VanZandt Neill via Texas Tribune on Facebook
We've been restless for awhile now,thanks for askin'
Tim Natividad via Texas Tribune on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/I-stand-with-Texas-against-illegal-immigration/126074457405696?ref=ts