A Texas lawmaker is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to add legislation requiring the federal government to reimburse the state for the cost of educating illegal alien children in Texas’ government schools to the special legislative session.
State Sen. Drew Springer (R–Muenster) sent a letter to Abbott asking him to include the legislation on the call for the special session slated to begin next week.
“Texas can not afford to wait until the 89th Legislative Session to address this matter,” wrote Springer. “Texas is not a sanctuary state for illegal migrants, yet we’re spending billions each year to fund their education. It is time that we put an end to this and send the federal government the bill.”
During the regular legislative session earlier this year, Springer filed Senate Bill 923, which would have required the federal government to reimburse the state for any illegal alien child educated in Texas’ government schools. The legislation specified that if the federal government does not enter into an agreement with Texas to pay for the cost of educating an illegal alien child, they will not be allowed to attend a Texas government school. The legislation was left pending in the Senate’s education committee.
According to Springer, it currently costs the state between $5-$8 billion annually to educate illegal alien children. However, in the eight months since he first filed SB 923, it is estimated that an additional $1 billion has been added to the bill.
“We have thousands of illegal migrants crossing into Texas every day due to years of failed immigration policies and Biden’s refusal to secure the border,” Springer told Texas Scorecard. “Frankly, it’s outrageous that the federal government has expected the Texas taxpayers to pay billions annually to fund the education of illegal migrants. We can’t afford to carry this financial burden for the federal government, and I believe it’s time we fight back.”
Chris Russo, president of Texans for Strong Borders, told Texas Scorecard that he is disappointed Springer’s bill didn’t receive a hearing during the regular legislative session, as Texans should not be spending billions on illegal alien children’s education.
“Billions of taxpayer dollars are spent each year educating children who have no legal right to reside here due to the federal government’s refusal to enforce our laws,” said Russo. “Senator Springer introduced SB 923 as a possible solution to this, and we included it in our priority bills for the session. We were disappointed that this bill did not even receive a hearing in the regular session and we are hopeful that this will change during the upcoming special session.”
“It is disgraceful that Texans are denied educational opportunities due to the billions of dollars we spend educating illegal aliens and their children,” Russo added.
The third special session is slated to begin on October 9 at 1 p.m.
