Tag Archives: immigration

Fifth Circuit will re-hear the Farmers Branch lawsuit again

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have an uneasy feeling about this. Farmers Branch was sued four years ago after it passed an ordinance allowing the city building inspector to evict any illegal immigrant renters. Its case will now go before the full membership of … Continue reading →

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The ballot propositions we won’t have

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the 78th day before the November 6 election. That makes it the statutory deadline for ordering an election, as noted by the Secretary of State. They cite Sec. 201.054 of the Elections Code for this, which seems wrong … Continue reading →

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On hedging one’s bets

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Writing in the Trib, Mustafa Tameez tells Republicans that there such a thing as too much of a good thing for them. If Republicans win in SD-10, there will only be 11 Democrats in the Texas Senate. That means that … Continue reading →

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Rey Guerra: Latinos in Houston 2012

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. White, Black, Asian, or other, if you live in Houston, you’ve more than likely adopted aspects of Latino culture into your … Continue reading →

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Good move, Mr. President

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

About time. President Barack Obama’s administration announced Friday that it would stop deporting younger illegal immigrants and would begin granting them work permits. The policy will apply to immigrants younger than 30 who arrived in the U.S. before the age … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit rules against Farmers Branch

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I almost missed this. A federal appeals court has upheld the ruling that struck down a Farmers Branch renters ordinance aimed at banning illegal immigrants from rental housing in the city. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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Jose Luis Zelaya

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Jose Luis Zelaya is running for student body president at Texas A&M. He’s also an “illegal immigrant”. Here’s his story. Zelaya first started working in the streets in Honduras at age 7, washing car windows and begging on buses. His … Continue reading →

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Dis-Harmony

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about the Harmony charter schools, which are right up there with KIPP and YES Prep among the top charters. They seem to attract a fair amount of criticism, more than their peers, for how they do their business, … Continue reading →

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Election results elsewhere

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Results of interest from elsewhere in Texas and the country… – Three of the ten Constitutional amendments were defeated, with Prop 4 losing by nearly 20 points. It drew strong opposition from anti-toll road activists, and I daresay that was … Continue reading →

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Today’s Republican Party is too radical even for Rick Perry

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Mark Jones states a few facts about the Texas version of the DREAM Act that Rick Perry signed in 2001, and what it says about the Republican Party now. In 2001 the Republican Party enjoyed a narrow majority over the … Continue reading →

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DPS loses lawsuit over drivers license rules

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This happened the week before last, but I’m not sure it will matter at this point. On [July 29], Judge Orlinda Naranjo ruled against the Texas Department of Public Safety and said that the agency could no longer require those … Continue reading →

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for the GOP to fix immigration

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I confess that I only glanced at this op-ed by local immigration attorney Charles Foster about how the Republican Party can lead the way on immigration reform, but thankfully Greg was there to do a little deconstruction. I just want … Continue reading →

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The consolation prize

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans couldn’t get their act together enough to pass the “sanctuary cities” bill, but they did manage to do this. A provision in the approved Senate Bill 1, the special session’s must-pass school finance bill, will require people to … Continue reading →

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Sine Die, take two

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The House followed the Senate out the door yesterday, leaving a bit of unfinished business behind. The Senate’s version of a bill to criminalize intrusive pat-downs by federal agents with the Transportation Security Administration has died in the House, after … Continue reading →

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House passes budget after brief meltdown

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For a few brief moments, it looked like we were heading to double overtime, as Republicans voted down their own budget in the House. The Texas House, in a surprise turn of events late Tuesday afternoon, tentatively voted down a … Continue reading →

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How much time will the Lege waste this week on a stunt?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

House Speaker Joe Straus got a little frustrated on Friday. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus unleashed a rare verbal assault Friday on an effort to criminalize invasive searches at airports, assailing legislation supported by Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David … Continue reading →

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Down to the wire for “sanctuary cities”

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s an 11th hour lobbying effort to stop the “sanctuary cities” bill as it is. As two of Texas’ most politically-involved business leaders emerged as opponents, a bill banning “sanctuary cities” lost crucial momentum Friday, raising the possibility the measure … Continue reading →

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The perils of being a single-issue voter

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A new voice is heard against the “sanctuary cities” bill. Several Hispanic, conservative evangelical pastors from around the state spoke out in opposition of the bill. One of them, Gilberto Avila, a pastor from Tyler, testified against the measure on … Continue reading →

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MLB needs to stand by all of its players

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A brief history of baseball’s other color line. There is no Latin American Jackie Robinson, no single Hispanic ballplayer who lifted his people onto his back and crashed through baseball’s racist barricades. But there always has to be a first, … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill passes the Senate

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Once it was added to the call, this became inevitable. Senate Republicans finally passed a priority issue for their party early Wednesday morning when they outmuscled their Democratic colleagues on an immigration-related bill intended to make it easier for law … Continue reading →

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The reason why some anti-immigration legislation didn’t pass this session

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

According to teabagger Rebecca Frost, the problem was too many Hispanic legislators. This is what she had to say at a rally in Austin yesterday: There’s a lot of wind noise that makes it hard to hear exactly what she’s … Continue reading →

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Same schism, next verse

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not surprised that there exist other GOP activists besides the usual Bob Perry/Bill Hammond/business interests types that aren’t happy with their party’s recent anti-immigrant/anti-Hispanic fixation. Nor am I surprised that like their business-oriented counterparts they haven’t figured out what … Continue reading →

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Perry adds “sanctuary cities” to the special session

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I wasn’t sure if this would happen or not. I guess you can never pander to the base too much. Gov. Rick Perry has added controversial immigration and homeland security measures to the agenda for the special legislative session that … Continue reading →

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Chron profile of Rep. Hernandez Luna

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good story. State Rep. Ana Hernandez Luna stood before the House on the afternoon of May 9, hours after lawmakers passed the controversial “sanctuary city” bill, and started reading from a prepared statement, her eyes downcast. “I know House Bill … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the special session

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come back. And with the start of the special session comes a little surprise. Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders hope to move through a series of bills quickly during the special session that begins … Continue reading →

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Senate Dems block “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They did it as they said they would. The state’s contentious sanctuary cities bill failed to move out of the Senate late Tuesday — a move some senators said effectively killed one of the most controversial measures the Texas Legislature … Continue reading →

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Senate Dems say they will block “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is exactly what they should be doing. The twelve Democrats in the Texas Senate signed a letter that they delivered today to their colleagues, vowing to oppose the sanctuary cities bill — a move that could, but not necessarily, … Continue reading →

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Obama and Texas 2012

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jonathan Chait notes that recently the Obama re-election team has said it will put money into Texas, and observes that this is part of a bigger strategy. In the narrow analysis, Texas is a deeply Republican state. Obama lost it … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill lives again

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is why no bill is truly dead until sine die. In another surprise move by the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee, Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, made a motion to reconsider a vote the committee took Wednesday that … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill gutted in committee

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t see this coming. In a surprise move that could effectively kill HB 12, the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by … Continue reading →

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I presume making it a capital offense will be next

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans tackle another pressing problem. It’s already a felony for individuals to knowingly vote or try to vote if they are ineligible from doing so for any number or reasons, including being a non-citizen or illegal immigrant. But Republican … Continue reading →

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Hopefully, the “sanctuary cities” bill will be the end of the anti-immigrant crap

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman offers a little hope. The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill received final passage in the Texas House on Tuesday and was on its way to the Senate, but most other immigration measures introduced in the House this session appear … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” ban passes the House

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose we should get used to the phrase “cutting off debate” because that seems to be the norm these days. After taking the unusual and controversial strategy of cutting off debate, the Texas House late Monday voted 99 to … Continue reading →

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Sanctuary cities bill delayed

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another point of order sends another “emergency” bill back to committee. The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill hit a roadblock in the Texas house late Friday when a point of order derailed the legislation and knocked it off the calendar. The … Continue reading →

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