Latest news with #CaroleKeetonStrayhorn
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to require Texas illegal immigration impact study dies
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's been nearly 20 years since Texas last studied the impact of mass deportations, and there's no plan to revisit the effort anytime soon. As the federal government continues widespread deportations of undocumented immigrants and workers, a bill that would have required an annual study of the effect unauthorized migrants have on the state has died. Senate Bill 825 would have required a biennial report cataloging the economic, environmental and financial impacts of illegal immigration. The governor's office could have contracted with a state or federal agency, a nonprofit or an institution of higher education to conduct the research. In 2006, former Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn released the first, and last, comprehensive study on unauthorized workers' impact on the state's finances. Undocumented immigrants in Texas generated 'more taxes and other revenue than the state spends on them,' the study found. Employing undocumented workers in Texas is illegal, but rarely enforced Back then, 31% of undocumented immigrants worked in the service industry, followed by 19% in construction. The study found a quarter of all farm workers were undocumented. Deporting 1.4 million undocumented workers would have dropped gross state product by $17.7 billion with the state unable to fully recover the loss of labor over a 20-year period, according to the report. Today, the American Immigration Council, estimates Texas has more than two million undocumented immigrants making up 9% of the workforce. The AIC estimates 27% of construction workers, 17% of agriculture workers and 11% of manufacturing jobs in the state are done by undocumented workers. But, without official data, the exact numbers are hard to know. EXPLORE: KXAN's Undocumented investigative series Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller previously acknowledged 'we don't have the data,' but said, 'using cowboy logic,' he didn't foresee much economic damage from a spike in immigration enforcement — at least not for farming, which his office oversees. 'I'm not advocating spending a lot of tax dollars on it,' Miller told KXAN last month when asked if the state should revisit the issue and once again study the economic impact. 'The private industry is moving so fast I don't know that they could even catch them at this point. So, at some point, it would be nice to at least get 20 years [of] updated [data] and see what we've got. And, I think we could do that…with pretty reasonable research.' Miller credited automation and new technology for lessening the need to hire undocumented farm workers. Amid ongoing reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on businesses and job sites around the country a KXAN investigation previously found the federal government has focused far more on going after migrants than the bosses who hire and pay them. SB 825 passed the Senate but never made it to a floor vote in the House. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Carole Keeton Strayhorn, first woman to serve as Texas comptroller, dies at 85
Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a trailblazing Texas politician who was the first woman elected for the roles of mayor of Austin and state comptroller, died Wednesday. She was 85. Strayhorn passed surrounded by her family in Austin, according to an obituary provided by her son, Scott McClellan. A dedicated Austinite, Keeton was born and raised in the city and attended the University of Texas at Austin. She served on the board of trustees for Austin Independent School District before becoming the city's first female mayor in 1977, serving three terms. Strayhorn served two terms as Texas Comptroller, from 1999 to early 2007. While running as a Republican for comptroller, toward the end of her tenure she ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign as an independent against former Gov. Rick Perry during the 2006 election, where she referred to herself as 'one tough grandma.' We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Capitol Context: The last time Texas added up the costs of illegal immigration
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas state senator has filed a bill calling for a study on immigration — specifically, the 'economic, environmental, and financial impact of illegal immigration' in the state. Sen. Mayes Middleton's, R-Galveston, SB 825 wants the study to be carried out every year and on the governor's desk no later than Sept. 1 with copies sent to the lieutenant governor and the legislature. He wants the Texas Department of Public Safety to put it together. So when was the last time the state did something like this? And what did we learn? MORE CAPITOL CONTEXT: How much money does the Texas Lottery send to schools? We have to look back nearly two decades, to a 'special report' prepared by then-State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in 2006. Using data from fiscal year 2005, the study examined the costs of education for undocumented immigrants in the state, the costs associated with healthcare and the costs for incarceration. Ultimately, Strayhorn's office found undocumented people helped the state financially. The 20-page report concluded the following: 'The Comptroller's office estimates the absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our Gross State Product of $17.7 billion. Also, the Comptroller's office estimates that state revenues collected from undocumented immigrants exceed what the state spent on services, with the difference being $424.7 million.' SB 825 is scheduled for a public hearing on March 20. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
