Waco Tribune-Herald by Stephanie Butts
Pro-immigration reform constituents of Bill Flores expressed their dissatisfaction with his position on immigration reform at the Town Hall Meeting at McLennan Community College last night.
The representative noted the country’s immigration system is broken, but said it can’t begin to be fixed until the U.S. secures its borders.
Flores said he would not vote for comprehensive immigration-reform legislation that passed the Senate in June, supported by a bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators, because he isn’t convinced a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants is best.
Flores said he thinks a streamlined path to citizenship for those who came into the country illegally is cheating those who have endured the process of achieving their citizenship legally.
In spite of a shouting crowd, Flores said he supports a probationary status in which illegal immigrants would earn their right to a green card by paying back taxes and fines. But that wasn’t enough for the crowd.
About 20 people in the crowd wore green T-shirts emblazoned with “Do something now!” in support of a quick, earned path to citizenship.
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