CORRECTION:
My previous article said that the platform committee did this
intentionally. I meant to say I believe it was done UNintentionally. The
I and the U are beside each other on the keyboard and I am tired.
I believe the platform committee had good intentions and many of the things they did are good. I still believe some of the immigration section of the platform is vague in spots (like who will be deported if mass deportations are not possible and how specifically do we want the border secures). It has come to my attention though that, although much of the immigration section was taken out, many of the important parts of the immigration section are still scattered around the platform in other sections (like law enforcement which deals with deporting any criminal illegals). So that does make me feel better to see these important parts still scattered in the platform. I do not feel that anyone on the platform committee is for amnesty and instead, I just think the way some things are worded should be clarified because it could come across as Amnesty. (It was a split vote so almost have of the committee did not want this). Also, Amnesty might not even be the best word to describe what is in the platform because the proposed platform would require punishments like fines and no one would get a free pass.
Anyways, those are my couple of clarifications and corrections. I hope we can have civil debate tomorrow and work on passing a platform that does reflect some needed changes and clarifications on immigration so that we do not push away Hispanics, but at the same time we need to make sure we are not wording things in a way that people will mistake what we are saying as amnesty or a free pass.
previous article:
Take Action to Remove Amnesty from Proposed Platform before Final Vote Friday!
The 2012 Texas State Republican Convention Platform Committee has finally finished the proposed 2012 Texas Republican Party Platform and the Republican Party of Texas has posted these proposals on the Republican Party of Texas Convention Website. For your convenience, you can just click on the links below to see the proposed rules and platform.
PROPOSED 2012 RPT RULES (PDF)
PROPOSED 2012 RPT RULES (WORD)
PROPOSED 2012 RPT PLATFORM (PDF)
PROPOSED 2012 RPT PLATFORM (WORD)
THIS IS NOT THE FINAL VERSION!!
This is the proposed platform. It still has to be voted on by the delegates at the convention tomorrow afternoon (Friday June 8th 2012). It can still be changed before the final vote.
This proposed platform WILL BE THE FINAL VERSION IF WE DO NOT TAKE ACTION TO CHANGE IT TOMORROW
Here is the problem.
The problem is that the platform committee did not have enough time to work on the immigration section and they HOPEFULLY UNTENTIONALLY allowed a section to be vague and basically says that the Republican Party of Texas is against deporting any illegal immigrants (amnesty)
THIS IS NUTS!
Ok, I understand wanting to really reach out to Hispanics and try to show what we are a party for Hispanics because we share conservative values. i am ok with many of the changes to the platform to more clearly state our immigration positions without turning off Hispanics. I understand that it is probably impossible to deport all 11 million illegals and we need to come up with a plan. At the same time though, putting in our platform that we are for Amnesty and that we are against deporting anyone is just nuts and will do nothing to solve the problem of illegal immigration and preventing it and encouraging people to come over legally.
The part of the proposed platform about securing the border is even vague. It does not say how we should secure the border. It should at least say that we need to put troops on the border to stop illegal immigration and protect America from the hundreds of thousands of Criminals and Violent Drug Cartel members who are coming over each year.
I do not believe this is what the members on the platform committee intended because they ran out of time, but this section most certainly needs to be clarified or taken out on the floor of the convention tomorrow.
below is the exact wording of the proposed Immigration Section of the platform. The entire Proposed Platform can be seen by clicking on the links at the top of this article
Sincerely,
David Bellow
State Republican Executive Committeeman for SD3
Proposed IMMIGRATION Section of 2012 Texas GOP Platform
The Texas Solution
– Because of decades-long failure of the
federal government to secure our borders and address the immigration issue,
there are now upwards of 11 million undocumented individuals in the United
States today, each of whom entered and remain here under different
circumstances. Mass deportation of these
individuals would neither be equitable nor practical; while blanket amnesty, as
occurred with the Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986, would only encourage future violations
of the law. We seek common ground to
develop and advance a conservative, market- and law-based approach to our
nation’s immigration issues by following these principles:
1. Secure
Our Borders – The U.S. Border must be secured
immediately! We demand the application
of effective, practical and reasonable measures to secure our borders and to
bring safety and security for all Americans along the border and throughout the
nation.
2. Modernize
the United States Social Security Card – We
support the improvement of our 1936 Social Security card to use contemporary
anti-counterfeit technology. The social security card will not be considered a
National ID card for U.S. citizens.
3. Birthright
Citizenship – We call on the Legislative,
Executive, and Judicial branches of the United States to clarify Section 1 of
the 14th amendment to limit citizenship by birth to those born to a
citizen of the United States with no exceptions.
4. Create
an Effective and Efficient Temporary Worker Program –
A national Temporary Worker Program should be implemented to bring skilled and
unskilled workers into the United States for temporary periods of time when no
U.S. workers are currently available.
The program should also require:
·
Self-funding through participation
fees and fines;
·
Applicants must pass a full criminal
background check;
·
Applicants with prior immigration
violations would only qualify for the program if they paid the appropriate
fines;
·
Applicants and/or Employers must prove
that they can afford and/or secure private health insurance;
·
Applicants must waive any and all
rights to apply for financial assistance from any public entitlement programs;
·
Applicant must show a proficiency in
the English language and complete an American civic class;
·
Temporary Workers would only be able
to work for employers that deduct and match payroll taxes;
·
All participants would be issued an
individual Temporary-Worker Biometric Identification Card that tracks all
address changes and both civil and criminal court appearances as a defendant.
