<font size="5"><center>
Texas Immigration Bill in Works From Lawmaker,
Who Called Obama "God's Punishment"</font size></center>
Leo Berman
The Star Telegraph
by: Anna M. Tinsley
Thursday 29 April 2010
A state lawmaker wants to make sure that any candidate on the presidential ticket from now on can show proof they were born in the United States -- or not be allowed on the Texas ballot.
State Rep. Leo Berman this week said he's planning to file several immigration-related bills once Texas lawmakers get back to work in January, including one that requires presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove their citizenship to the Texas secretary of state before their names are added to the ballot.
This is similar to one provision in the immigration law recently approved in Arizona.
"We'll do it," said Berman, R-Tyler, and a former Arlington mayor pro tem. "We'll do it from now on. If he can't prove citizenship ... he won't have a place on the Texas ballot."
Berman was referring to President Barack Obama, whose birthplace has been questioned by some since before he took office. Although his campaign produced a birth certificate that shows Obama was born in Hawaii, some speculate that he was actually born in Kenya, where his father lived.
Berman also plans a broad bill similar to the Arizona law, which makes being an undocumented worker a crime. He specifically wants to include the measure to allow law enforcement officials to ask people who they believe may be in the country illegally about their status. "I think almost every state in the union will follow suit," Berman told the Star-Telegram during a recent call from Switzerland, where he is vacationing.
His proposals drew fire from several Democrats, including Hank Gilbert, who is running for Texas agriculture commissioner.
"The fact of the matter is this: Undocumented immigrants make up a significant segment of the agricultural labor force in Texas. These men and women help Texas grow food not just for our state, but for the rest of the nation," Gilbert said in a written statement. "If you take away their ability to move freely within our society and survive without being under constant threat of police action, they will go somewhere else for jobs.
"Now, I know that's probably what Rep. Berman wants -- he'd rather undocumented individuals go to Oklahoma or Louisiana to work," he said. "But the fact is that we have a vital ag industry in Texas, and we have work for people who come to Texas from Latin America and Mexico."
Separately, state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, has said she also plans to file a bill similar to the Arizona immigration law. "The first priority for any elected official is to make sure that the safety and security of Texans is well-established," Riddle told Hearst Newspapers in Texas. "If our federal government did their job, then Arizona wouldn't have to take this action, and neither would Texas."
Some Democrats call the Arizona legislation hateful; others say they don't expect these proposed measures to get far in Texas, since the Mexican American Legislative Caucus makes up nearly one-third of the Texas House of Representatives.
ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04/28/2150437/texas-legislators-plan-bills-similar.html
Texas Immigration Bill in Works From Lawmaker,
Who Called Obama "God's Punishment"</font size></center>
Leo Berman
The Star Telegraph
by: Anna M. Tinsley
Thursday 29 April 2010
A state lawmaker wants to make sure that any candidate on the presidential ticket from now on can show proof they were born in the United States -- or not be allowed on the Texas ballot.
State Rep. Leo Berman this week said he's planning to file several immigration-related bills once Texas lawmakers get back to work in January, including one that requires presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove their citizenship to the Texas secretary of state before their names are added to the ballot.
This is similar to one provision in the immigration law recently approved in Arizona.
"We'll do it," said Berman, R-Tyler, and a former Arlington mayor pro tem. "We'll do it from now on. If he can't prove citizenship ... he won't have a place on the Texas ballot."
Berman was referring to President Barack Obama, whose birthplace has been questioned by some since before he took office. Although his campaign produced a birth certificate that shows Obama was born in Hawaii, some speculate that he was actually born in Kenya, where his father lived.
<font size="3">Last weekend, Berman told a crowd in Tyler that he believes <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">"Barack Obama is God's punishment on us today, but ... we are going to make Obama a one-term president,"</span> according to a report in the Tyler Morning Telegraph.</font size>
Berman also plans a broad bill similar to the Arizona law, which makes being an undocumented worker a crime. He specifically wants to include the measure to allow law enforcement officials to ask people who they believe may be in the country illegally about their status. "I think almost every state in the union will follow suit," Berman told the Star-Telegram during a recent call from Switzerland, where he is vacationing.
His proposals drew fire from several Democrats, including Hank Gilbert, who is running for Texas agriculture commissioner.
"The fact of the matter is this: Undocumented immigrants make up a significant segment of the agricultural labor force in Texas. These men and women help Texas grow food not just for our state, but for the rest of the nation," Gilbert said in a written statement. "If you take away their ability to move freely within our society and survive without being under constant threat of police action, they will go somewhere else for jobs.
"Now, I know that's probably what Rep. Berman wants -- he'd rather undocumented individuals go to Oklahoma or Louisiana to work," he said. "But the fact is that we have a vital ag industry in Texas, and we have work for people who come to Texas from Latin America and Mexico."
Separately, state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, has said she also plans to file a bill similar to the Arizona immigration law. "The first priority for any elected official is to make sure that the safety and security of Texans is well-established," Riddle told Hearst Newspapers in Texas. "If our federal government did their job, then Arizona wouldn't have to take this action, and neither would Texas."
Some Democrats call the Arizona legislation hateful; others say they don't expect these proposed measures to get far in Texas, since the Mexican American Legislative Caucus makes up nearly one-third of the Texas House of Representatives.
ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04/28/2150437/texas-legislators-plan-bills-similar.html
