Republican Congressman Joe Barton to Introduce Major Immigration Reform Bill

During a recording of Lone Star Politics Friday, which aired this morning, Gromer Jeffers of The Dallas Morning News asked Republican Congressman Joe Barton (TX—6) what the chances were that some kind of immigration reform would be coming out of Congress this year.

Rep. Barton responded that he will be introducing a major immigration reform bill within the next month to six weeks, that if passed, will solve our nation’s problem of a broken immigration system.

“It takes care of the minor children, it puts them on a path to citizenship, it puts an emphasis on controlling the border, and it has a real guest worker program that will work. On the adults who came here illegally without documentation, we’ll do an individual check by check by check, and if the only illegal act they committed was coming into the country without the proper documentation, we will put them on a path to legalization, but not citizenship.”

When asked if a pathway to citizenship or guest worker program would get through the House, Rep. Barton answered:

"Well Republicans need to start talking about it. I’m part of a majority party in the largest state that’s still majority Republican, and I want to keep it that way. My little boy is 8-years-old. He’s in the public schools in Ennis, Texas, and half of his class is Hispanic and his two best friends are Hispanic. They start everyday raising their hand and Pledging Allegiance to the American flag and then the Texas flag. They’re Americans, and we need to acknowledge that and find a way for those who wish to be part of the American dream an opportunity to make them legal."

Journalist Scott Braddock notes that this makes Rep. Barton the most senior member of the Texas Republican US House delegation to propose anything like this.

The discussion of immigration reform can be seen below starting at about the 3:15 mark. 

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