As Texas lawmakers work to finalize the state’s next two-year budget, several Republican members of the Texas House are using the amendment process to spotlight the growing cost of illegal immigration on state services.
With the House set to debate potentially hundreds of proposed changes to Senate Bill 1, the state’s general appropriations bill, some amendments stand out for their focus on immigration-related data, reporting, and messaging.
One such amendment, filed by State Rep. Janis Holt (R–Silsbee), would add new requirements to the contract governing the Texas State Almanac, which is published in partnership with the Texas Historical Commission. Her proposal would require the Almanac to include statistics on illegal border crossings into Texas, as well as an account of the negative effects illegal immigration is having on the state.
Meanwhile, State Rep. Mike Olcott (R–Aledo) filed two amendments with a more analytical approach, aimed at quantifying the impact of illegal immigration on state-funded services.
One of Olcott’s proposals would direct the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to issue an annual report detailing the cost of uncompensated care provided by hospitals to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Under the amendment, the report would focus on facilities that receive state funds and would include data on the financial strain such care places on hospitals and the health care system more broadly.
The reporting would rely on information gathered under an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023 to strengthen the state’s ability to track immigration-related impacts on state services.
Another similar amendment by Olcott targets the Texas Education Agency, requiring it to compile an annual report estimating how many students enrolled in public schools are not lawfully present in the United States. The amendment would also require the agency to provide an estimate of the cost of educating those students, including any additional services such as English language instruction, special education, or academic interventions.
The proposal would allow the TEA to request relevant data from school districts and charter schools as needed.
393 amendments have been pre-filed ahead of Thursday’s budget debate.
