VIDEO: How Anti-Immigrant Is Texas?

As someone who is originally from Los Angeles and has lived in Texas for many years, I often am asked by my California-inclined friends why I would stay in such a “racist” state. Well, I tell them, the truth of the matter is that Texas is a very diverse state — there are parts that are more racist than others and parts that are very tolerant. Usually they don’t believe me and this legislative session, I don’t blame them.

NewsTaco spoke with Texas State Rep. Joaquín Castro-D of San Antonio last week about Texas’ budget crisis and his political future, but we also asked him about Texas’ slew of anti-immigrant, and in some cases, almost racist bills this session.

The short version is that Castro said:  Gov. Rick Perry recently said immigration was an emergency item, superseding Texas $27 billion budgetary shortfall, so it’s a political “distraction” that’s more about helping Perry as a would-be national Republican politician than about helping the people of Texas. These bills are mostly symbolic, they don’t address “substantive” problems, some of the more craconian ones are downright unconstitutional (said the Harvard Law graduate) and will ultimately clog up the legislative process and add to the nastiness of the session. In short:  Texas doesn’t need a second federal government in Austin, Gov. Perry.