HYPOCRISY IN ACTION

Greetings. I am a voting constituent in rural west Texas. The usual misinformation about immigration and immigrants is in full fear-mongering mode. Fanned by Donald Trump and amplified by our Governor. It is dangerous, misleading, and craven. Immigrants coming into America boost our economy. And undocumented immigrants in the United States play an outsized role in strengthening the nation through their substantial tax contributions. And here's a truth about Texas that Gov. Abbott doesn’t acknowledge: According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, in Texas in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $4.9 billion in state and local taxes. That was more than the combined taxes collected in Texas for alcohol, cigarette/tobacco, hotel occupancy and utility. Undocumented immigrants pay taxes on goods and services, on homes that they own or rent and on the income they earn. That money helps to pay for essential services such as education and health care. So while our governor is issuing an executive order directing all public hospitals in Texas to begin collecting and issuing reports related to undocumented patients in their care. Ask yourself…when’s the last time you saw a white guy up on a roof in a Texas summer, working dawn to dusk? Or doing any number of awful jobs? Working for the American dream. And helping keep the country, and Texas, afloat while they do it.