Resources
2023 Texas Sprawl Study
Texas remains one of the fastest growing states in the U.S. Between 1982 and 2017, its population grew by 13 million, almost doubling over a 35-year span. During that same time, Texas lost 6,634 square miles of open space. About 4,644 square miles, 70% of total lost open space, were developed due to population growth. Immigration accounted for 47% of population increase in the Lone Star State.
The Seven Amnesties Passed by Congress
Since the passing of the Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA), 6 million illegal aliens have received amnesty in the United States. The IRCA Amnesty was supposed to "wipe the slate clean" and instead it's lead to the current situation of 12-20 million illegal aliens living in the country.
Vanishing Open Spaces (National)
In just the eight years from 2002 to 2010, over 8.3 million acres (approximately 13,000 square miles) of farmland and natural habitat succumbed to the bulldozer’s blade. This study finds that around 70% of those losses around Urbanized Areas over the last decade were related to the nation's continuing trend of high population growth. Nearly all long-term population growth in the United States is in the hands of federal policy makers, because nearly all long-term population growth is related to federal immigration policies that have quadrupled the annual level of immigration.
Polls
Texas Poll on Legal Immigration Numbers -- March 2018
Likely Midterm Voters in Texas, by a 63-28% margin, support reducing annual legal immigration to 750,000 or less.
White House Immigration Principles
President Trump and the White House released a detailed set of immigration principles on October 8, 2017. The principles reflect many of the campaign promises Pres. Trump made on the campaign trail and suggest implementing many of the reforms recommended by the last bipartisan Congressional commission on immigration reform chaired by Barbara Jordan.
Legal Workforce Act
The single best action Congress can take to significantly reduce illegal immigration is to require all businesses to use E-Verify.
E-Verify is an electronic verification system, maintained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that allows employers to ensure that they are hiring a legal workforce.
The Legal Workforce Act, H.R. 3711, was introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and would require all employers to use E-Verify within two years.
Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) are original cosponsors of the bill.
RAISE Act
The RAISE Act was introduced by Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.). The bill would eliminate the family chain migration green card categories and the visa lottery and transform the current employment-based system to a merit-based system, potentially reducing legal immigration by 50% over 10 years. The bill earned the endorsement of Pres. Donald Trump who praised the bill's introduction at a White House event.
DACA Executive Amnesty
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA, was announced by President Barack Obama on June 15, 2012. The executive action granted qualifying illegal aliens a postponement of any potential immigration action and a 2-year renewable court date. To date, more than 793,000 illegal aliens have received a temporary amnesty through the program.
In order to qualify for the amnesty, illegal aliens had to meet the following conditions: