Eyes front With Arizona immigration law on appeal, Texas should focus on other issues.

Eyes front
With Arizona immigration law on appeal, Texas should focus on other issues.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 7, 2010, 4:22PM
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Facing an $18 billion state funding crisis that has already required deep cuts in agency budgets, the last thing Texas needs is a legislative season in 2011 paralyzed by a fight over an Arizona-style immigration law.
Until federal judge Susan Bolton issued an injunction last week suspending the law's most controversial provisions, such a debilitating conflict in Austin next spring seemed inevitable.
Now that the legality of state immigration statutes could take years to reach a final Supreme Court judgment, it's time to step back and take a deep breath. Calmer voices should prevail at the state capitol when lawmakers gather for the 82nd legislative session.
In 2009, the incendiary debate over bills mandating voter photo IDs at the polls log-jammed the session, derailing consideration of high-priority legislation. That must not be allowed to repeat itself with immigration as the focus.
Both Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White have taken the position that an Arizona-style statute is not in the best interests of the state. Perry favors stronger enforcement at the border and White as mayor of Houston initiated participation in the federal Secure Communities program that screens all prisoners through a federal database for immigration and criminal status.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7144050.html

Posted By Selome Getachew