Immigration has taken its toll on federal and Texas politic again. This topic has been very controversial since the last immigration action during Reagan administration. Since then, there were a few federal and state actions on immigration; Plyer v Doe allowed children of illegal immigrants to attend public schools in the country, Texas passed its own version of Dream Act to allow college enrollment of illegal immigrants, and Arizona passed the racist immigration law. Compared to other Republican states, Texas has rather lenient immigration policies.

                  Texas' current immigration system allows illegal immigrants to attend their public universities with in-state tuition. Texas had been more lenient towards the minor illegal immigrants than others. With the recent executive order by President Obama, those minors are enjoying a little more taste of freedom that they couldn't enjoy when they were in a shadow. Texas is issuing their driver's license again to these people.  There is still no legislative action towards legalization of this group of people in both federal and state level, but there is an effort in Washington to pass a comprehensive immigration bill.

                  Being a border state, Texas has to be stricter when it comes to deportation and eliminating any incentives for illegal immigrants. Texas has deported more than 387,790 illegal immigrants in 2009 alone, and the number is keep rising with President Obama's new policy that favors deportation. Texas has stoped issuing driver's license to illegal immigrants since 2007. Texas made it very difficult for employers to hire illegal immigrants.

                  The current status of immigration action is green for now since the Republicans started to realize that neglecting this topic would cost them the next election. With the growing supports from Latino and other minority groups, the comprehensive immigration reform introduced by the gang of 8 in the Senate is getting its momentum. If this is passed, it would legalize approximately 11 million people, and it would help bring in skilled workers around the world. Further, this country will experience the toughest border security ever, satisfying the longing wish for the Republicans. 

Source: http://www.hawaiireporter.com/comprehensive-immigration-reform-pro-growth-and-pro-agriculture/123