DALLAS – Roughly 15 percent of the 11.2 million people living in America without legal documentation reside in Texas, making securing the border a hot-button issue for the state’s U.S. Senate candidates.
But what’s the best way to go about this? The 1.65 million illegal immigrants in the state, according to the PEW Hispanic Center, include young people who were brought to America by their parents.
Ted Cruz has made his record clear –– in a live blog from the Texas Tribune Festival, Tribune reporter Julian Aguilar covered Cruz’s argument that the country must celebrate and promote legal immigration. The DREAM Act, which sets a path to conditional permanent residency for young illegal immigrants brought to America as minors, is unfair to those who have immigrated legally, Cruz has argued.
On July 17 during the Belo Debate, Cruz said he supports funneling $7 billion in federal tax dollars into a wall that would stretch 1,100 miles from Brownsville to El Paso along the Mexico and U.S. border.
Speaking during a KERA-hosted debate in June, Sadler said a wall isn’t necessary. He argued boosting security at the border would be more effective and save taxpayer dollars.
Sadler is also in favor of the DREAM Act and a path to citizenship for all immigrants who pay taxes and obey the law.
Culled from third-party sources:
- Liveblog: Race & Immigration at the Texas Tribune Festival, The Texas Tribune
- Sadler, Yarbrough at Odds on Economy, Immigration, The Texas Tribune
- The Texas Debates: Race For U.S. Senate – Yarbrough v. Sadler, KERA News
- U.S. Senate Race Poll Released By Sadler, The Houston Chronicle
