Undocumented workers vital to fast-growing DFW economy, Rep. Marc Veasey says
Dallas-Fort Worth’s economy, one of the fastest growing in the nation, would not be strong without the support of undocumented workers, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey said Thursday.
Touching on several topics related to the Metroplex economy at a Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Veasey, a Democrat who represents parts of Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth, said he supported “comprehensive immigration reform” and attributed the rapid growth of North Texas to migrant workers.
Without getting into details, Veasey said he supported immigration reform that protected workers and provided a clear path to citizenship.
“We need to get something passed that will help these families and will help the business community,” he said.
Veasey said conversations about immigration had become too politicized and should focus on economics.
Recently a DFW area chamber of commerce met with him along side immigration activists, he said. Similar meetings between pro-business interests and immigration groups help remove politics from the conversation, he said, and help lawmakers understand the importance of migrant work to the economy.
A recent study based on U.S. Census Bureau data estimated that there were 575,350 undocumented immigrants in North Texas in 2017 with an employment rate of more than 96%.
A question regarding citizenship status on the 2020 Census, which the Trump administration had pushed for, posed a great harm for DFW’s economy, he said. The federal government relies on population counts when doling out money and a low count in Texas could mean federal dollars are sent elsewhere.
Veasey said he was discouraged state lawmakers didn’t devote money to census efforts this year, especially since other growing states like California have provided funding for the count. He called on Fort Worth officials to rally behind the census.
Fort Worth is significantly behind other major Texas cities in the local effort to support the census.
A fundraising goal of $1 million was set to support outreach efforts in Dallas. A $650,000 contract to help get an accurate headcount was approved in Houston. And a newly created census program manager position was formed in Austin.
The city has committed to forming a committee.
Gun control
Despite recent mass shootings in El Paso and Odessa, Veasey didn’t discuss gun control publicly during luncheon. He told the Star-Telegram afterward more needed to be done to prevent mass shootings.
Private guns sellers should be required to follow federal background checks, he said, and Congress should revisit the definition of assault weapons and high capacity magazines.
“The shootings that have happened are going to continue to shake the psyche of the American public because you can be shopping or driving down the street and lose your life,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to stop all of it but I think we can make it a lot harder.”
Panther Island
Veasey briefly mentioned the $1.17 billion Panther Island project in the Trinity River. The project has stalled with a lack of federal funding and has not been prioritized by the White House.
Earmarks, a process that allows lawmakers to assign money to specific projects, could open the door for more funding, he said. He said he supports bringing earmarks back to Congress as long as the public could vet which projects lawmakers requested money for.
“We have basically ceded our authority to the executive branch,” he said.
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 5:12 PM.
