VDARE.com: 02/17/11 - The Peter Morrison Report: Let Texans Know the True Cost of Illegal Immigration‏

The Peter Morrison Report, By Peter Morrison

Let Texans Know the True Cost of Illegal Immigration‏

Last November, voters went to the polls across Texas and America and sent an unmistakable message: we've had enough of "me too" Republicans, and we want leaders who will do more than just mouth platitudes that sound good. We want Republicans who will fight for conservative causes and principles, instead of caving in and kowtowing to liberals at the first sign of opposition.

Some of our senators and representatives in Austin have let us know that they received the message loud and clear, and they're going to work hard on behalf of the issues we care about, and there are indications that this session won't just be business as usual. Unfortunately, others seem to have completely forgotten the conservative revolution of last November

Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Houston) has proposed a bill that would require all public schools to check the immigration status of all their students. This is a very sensible first step toward getting a handle on the huge illegal immigration problem in Texas. As it stands now, there are no reliable figures as to just how widespread the problem is. If Debbie Riddle's bill becomes law, at least we would finally be able to measure just how much it costs us every year to educate the children of illegals in our public schools. This is exactly the sort of leadership conservative Texans demanded last November

Unfortunately it seems that not all the Republicans in Austin got the message. One of them, Rep. Rob Eissler (R-The Woodlands) is Chairman of the House Public Education Committee. Recently he gave an interview to the Texas Tribune in which he was asked about Rep. Riddle's bill. [Eissler: Don't Check Immigration Status of Students, by Evan Smith, February 3, 2011(includes video)] His response to the question should anger every conservative in Texas. At first he tried to avoid answering the question. Then, not only did he say he opposes the bill, calling it a mandate, he did so in a very condescending and offensive manner. He gave the distinct impression that he wants nothing to do with those of us who are concerned about illegal immigration, and won't be doing anything to stop it

Rep. Eissler pointed out that under Supreme Court rulings, public schools in America have no choice but to educate the children of illegals. Under current law, that is true, but Eissler is misconstruing the point of the bill. There is nothing in it which would order or allow schools to refuse admittance to the children of illegal aliens. It would simply require them to verify citizenship status, just as they already tabulate many other statistics, such as how many children are below the poverty line, what race children are, etc. Collecting one more bit of information would hardly constitute a burden on public schools

It seems likely that there is more to Eissler's opposition than the fact that this bill would be an inexpensive mandate. Not only does he appear to be opposed to efforts to rein in illegal immigration, he also appears to want to use the very fact that schools are being swamped by illegals as an excuse to raise spending on public education.

In January 2010, a Houston Chronicle article discussed the fact that around 60% of students in Texas public schools are considered "disadvantaged", because they come from a low income family, or they don't speak English well, or both. Obviously, this problem has been made much worse by illegal immigrants, many of whose children fall into one or both categories.

The Chronicle quoted Eissler, who said the answer is spending more tax dollars to hire teachers with "more qualifications" in our public schools:

"'You have more and more kids that are less prepared to do well in school. Where the expense comes in, you need teachers that have more qualifications. Maybe we need more and better professional development for our teachers.' "[Poverty growing in Texas schools, By Ericka Mellon, January 2, 2010]

It's hard to understand "teachers that have more qualifications" in this context as anything other than "bilingual" teachers. Eissler admitted that his idea would mean spending more money on public schools, which would also, quite conveniently, give him even more power as Chairman of the House Public Education Committee

Rob Eissler's opposition to the Riddle bill is an outrage, and we cannot allow it to pass unopposed. For far too long we've put up with being betrayed by RINOs and phony conservatives, and it has to stop.

Liberals don't betray their base and start voting along conservative lines when they win office. No, leftists are playing to win, and they unashamedly represent the people who put them in power.

Just this past week, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who famously said that she thinks a "wise Latina" would make a better judge than a white male, spoke to a group of students at the University of Chicago law school, and she made it clear she's strongly committed to racial quotas and other preferences. [Sotomayor, Unplugged, WSJ, February 4, 2011]She knows who made her what she is today, and she intends to use her power to advance their agenda. Meanwhile, on our side, we're regularly betrayed by RINO after RINO

Conservative Texans want leaders who will fight for what we believe in, while there's still time to make a difference. California is probably past the point of no return when it comes to being destroyed by illegal immigration, but Texas isn't that far behind.

We must act now, or we will face the same fate that California now faces, a future as a Third World state. We can't let that happen here.

Peter Morrison (email him) is a businessman living in Lumberton, Texas with his wife and four children. He currently serves on the Lumberton ISD School Board and as treasurer of the Hardin County Republican Party. He says "I believe deeply in the principles of limited constitutional government, the sanctity of life and that our state and nation should be run under Thomas Jefferson's principle of 'Equal Rights for All, Special Privileges for None.'" This article is from his free newsletter, which features commentary about current events of interest to Texans—sign up here.