Blog Post Assignment #2

In an article titled Texas reaction mixed to Obama call for immigration reform, the Austin American Statesman summarizes the reactions of various politicians to President Obama's call for Immigration Reform, given on Tuesday.

The article actually begins by giving a brief summary of Obama's speech, which calls for giving those in the country a chance to apply for citizenship, and more enforcement on the borders and in the workplace. The article then talks for a time about the similarities between this plan and the current immigration reform bill making its way through Congress, as well as the issues that traditionally surround the debate.

It then moves on to talking about Texas politician's reactions. It says that U.S. Rep Lamar Smith is against it, because he thinks that allowing those already here to obtain citizenship would simply encourage more people to immigrate illegally.

It says that U.S. Senator John Cornyn is attacking Obama for talking before, and not accomplishing anything on this issue.

It says that U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett thinks this is a good start.

It says that U.S. Representative Michael McCaul agrees that we need to double down on border security.

It then talks about local businesses, and groups, and their opinions on the matter. Notably, it says that the Texas Association of Business has voted to support the idea.

I believe that this article is very important. Because we live in Texas, immigration reform is a huge issue; according to one article, there were over 1 million illegal immigrants "working or looking to work" in Texas. Texas also has one of the highest rates of illegal immigration in the country, and so immigration is a very important issue for those living here. Thus, I think that it is also very important to know where our politicians stand on this issue, and the article by the Austin American Statesman summarizes their stances on the latest proposal for reform well.