Two Countries, One Border and Too Many Problems

Immigration has been a controversial topic over the years but has profoundly been brought to Americans attention recently by one of the 2016 Presidential Candidates, Donald Trump.  Trump has made valid points, maybe not in the most professional way, but he brings up issues that many Americans feel need to be addressed. This problem of immigration, especially in Texas has increased tremendously over the past decade. Illegal immigration has become a serious problem in America, which most immigrants are coming from Mexico, causing an increase in crime and violence.

Don’t get me wrong, not all illegals are criminals but when there is already problems with crime (rape, drugs, murder) why would America want to escalate this percentage from people that should not even be here? This is why America and Texas should protect the borders to allow no illegals over without going through the correct process and receiving the right documents. If you want to be an American citizen, go through the appropriate procedure, like a criminal background check, and pay your fair share of taxes. As an American citizen, I find it extremely provoking when illegals get handed free or reduced items, like groceries and health care that taxpayers eventually pay for.

As Trump has expressed and what many other politicians agree with but are too reluctant to speak up, illegal immigration from Mexico needs to be stopped because it is not only hurting our economy but is bringing danger to our society. Right now, the U.S. and Mexico border is not secure, with an increase in trafficking and easy access for immigrants to cross. We know Mexico has no intention to protect the border because Mexican officials are corrupted and have no desire to stop their citizens from seeking a more prosperous lifestyle. Texans and Americans need to address this issue or else the American economy will collapse from trying to support thousands of illegals and the crime rate will surge exponentially.

Mental Health Law Vetoed

On July 23, 2015 the Dallas Morning News published an article by Michael Nagle titled Abbott sided with Conspiracy Theorists to Kill Mental Health Law. In this article, the author discusses the Senate Bill 359 that Governor Greg Abbott decided to veto. The Senate Bill 359 would have given hospitals the power to hold a patient for 4 hours if doctors felt that the patient was thought to be in danger to themselves or others. These 4 hours would have given law enforcement enough time to evaluate the patient before he was released from the hospital. So why would Governor Greg Abbott decide to veto this bill if the senate and house passed it and if it could potentially help protect individuals from harm?

According to the author, Abbott said there were constitutional concerns with this bill and sided with fear mongering and a coalition group called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights instead of valuing medical expertise. The author’s intended audience is for doctors, law enforcement, and the mentally ill which this bill would have helped if it were passed. I agree with the author that this bill would have provided a safer environment for both the patient and the society that they encounter. Abbott wrote that only law enforcement should have the right to detain someone but not doctors who are medically trained and experienced to know if someone could be of danger to others. The author makes a valid point that this puts law enforcement at risk, the patient, and society if this patient is psychotic and is released without being evaluated before hand. The author uses other sources to validate his point. If a conspiracy is more important than providing authority to hold patients that present immediate danger, than our legislation is placing more danger into our society and is not focusing on the real problem.

Concealed Carry on Campus is a Risky Gamble

On July 9, 2015 the Daily Texan published an article by Noah Horwitz titled Without Reasonable Precedent, Campus Carry is a Risky Gamble for Texas Universities. This article raises concern about Texas legalizing concealed carry on campus and the consequences that Universities might face because of this law. The author explains that only six other states have proceeded to pass the law to allow concealed handguns to be carried on campus and none of these states compare to the size of Texas or have universities as large as those in Texas. This law has not been tested on a large scale and has been protested by students, administration and professors. The author’s intended audience for this article is for college students and faculty on Texas campuses who have expressed their concern for this law and think it could potentially hurt student’s safety more than help. The Texas Legislative thinks this law will provide a safer environment for students as well as prevent massacres like the incident on UT campus by Charles Whitman. This law will not prevent people who are evil with a planned intention to hurt someone, therefore will not lead to more massacres, but could lead to an increase in smaller incidents. I strongly agree with the author’s article and opinion about disagreeing with legalizing concealed carry on campus. I feel that students carrying a gun on campus will not prevent incidents from happening but more so provoke them. College students have one of the highest suicide rates compared to other age groups and are prone to stress so providing them with easy access to firearms could lead to higher increase in these incidents. There are evil people in this world and allowing anyone to carry a handgun makes it a higher possibility for someone to be harmed when encountered in an altercation. This author provides credible information in their article considering they have embedded links from other sources supporting their argument and are a government senior that is a senior associate editor which makes them a reliable author for this topic.

Education is Key for Success

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015 the Texas Tribune published an article titled Analysis: Schools Changing, and Not How You May Think. 

Public schools in Texas have seen a drastic change in political, social, and economic standpoints. The Texas Education Agency has seen a major increase in school populations with a large number of the increase coming from economically disadvantaged students. As the number of students attending schools has exponentially risen, so has the percentage of low-income students. This becomes a problem at the legislative level, considering the amount of money used to fund these schools as well as all the changes that are taking place in a short period of time are making it difficult to come to an agreement on what should be done. This article caught my attention considering education is one of the most important aspects of society. If the increase in school populations is coming from economically disadvantage students this means our government is not providing an economically stable state. You will eventually have kids that attend public schools and if these problems keep occurring their education and future could be affected.