2024-03-02 01:37:15
The U.S. border with Mexico has a serious illegal immigration problem. A large number of people from Central and South America and even the Chinese sneak into the United States through this crossing. Texas, which is at the forefront, bears the brunt of the problem. It has caused a lot of social problems and conflicts with the federal government on judicial power, causing Texas to have another ” If the independent voice of “German Independence” comes true, can Texas, with a GDP larger than Italy and Russia, become an economic power?
How can Texas afford independence if it has a falling out with Washington over the immigration issue? (Getty Images) (Manuel Augusto Moreno via Getty Images)
Real-time quotations of U.S. stocks and foreign currencies, multi-country news
23% of Texans support independence
The problem of illegal immigration has always plagued the United States. According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, since the peak of 220,000 illegal border crossings in March 2000, the number of illegal immigrants has slowly declined. During the epidemic, it hit a record low. However, in April 2020 Then it started to break out once more, with more and more people fleeing the United States on the grounds of political and persecution due to epidemic control measures. In December 2023 alone, the U.S. Border Patrol intercepted 250,000 people crossing the Mexican border into the United States, becoming The month with the highest number of illegal immigrants in history, 6,000 of them were Chinese who came all the way to “take the long way”, a sharp increase from the 900 people in the previous year. In response to the crisis, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed two bills in December last year. In addition to passing $1.5 billion to build a border wall, they also treat illegal immigrants as a state criminal offense, and Texas law enforcement officers can arrest and deport them. Recidivists can be imprisoned for up to 20 years, but immigration regulations are under the purview of the federal government and there are potential legal conflicts. The state government and Washington are not at odds with each other, and calls for Texas independence are growing.
Tragedies caused by illegal immigration are common. The picture shows firefighters in Eagle Pass, Texas, retrieving a body from the river. (SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images) (SERGIO FLORES via Getty Images)
“Newsweek” commissioned a consulting firm to conduct a survey in February. As many as 23% of Texas people support independence. 45% of the respondents believe that the state government has the right to decide its own fate of independence through a referendum. 44% agree or strongly agree. Agreed that Texas might become a successful country once independent. But the most realistic thing is when it comes to money. From an economic point of view, does Texas have the capital to become a successful independent country?
Oil, technology support Texas “as rich as the country”
The fact that Texas is “as rich as any country” is supported by actual data. According to data from the Texas Governor’s Office, the GDP of Texas reaches 2.4 trillion. From the figure below, you can see that compared with other countries, Texas’ economic aggregate is the eighth largest in the world. , higher than that of Italy, Russia, Canada and other sovereign countries; in addition, Texas contributes 23% of the GDP of the United States. If it succeeds in becoming independent, the economic strength of the United States will immediately decrease sharply.
Texas is a Republican base with many supporters. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Anadolu via Getty Images)
50 Fortune 500 headquarters settled in Texas
Texas is a vast land with abundant resources, covering an area of nearly 7 million square kilometers, which is close to the area of France, Spain and Sweden. The state is rich in natural resources. The top four industries are all related to oil, namely oil and gasoline wholesale, oil and natural gas mining, oil refining, and Petroleum storage equipment, the revenue of the four industries in 2023 will reach 828.8 billion U.S. dollars; in addition, Texas does not only rely on the oil industry, but other major local industries such as car sales, insurance, and hospitals. The government provides business convenience, making “Wealth World Fifty of the “Top 500” companies have established their headquarters in Texas, including the oil company Exxon Mobil and the pharmaceutical company McKesson, which are among the top ten. Other familiar names include many technology giants, such as the computer brand Dell, which ranks 34th. , Tesla ranked 50th, and Oracle, a software company ranked 101st. The United States announced the chip bill in 2022, attracting approximately US$210 billion in investment. Texas alone received US$61 billion. Taiwan’s Chongyue Group, which operates semiconductors, electronic parts, etc., recently It also expressed its intention to invest in Texas to make Texas an important chip and technology base in the country.
In addition, the economic tone of Texas is good. Official statistics in December last year showed that the local unemployment rate remained at 4%. The 370,000 new jobs created in the past year were the largest number in the country, and there were 44 of them in the past 45 months. New jobs were added, and economic growth in the fourth quarter was 7.7%, higher than the national average.
The oil industry is one of the important industries in Texas. (Ken Cedeno/Corbis via Getty Images) (Ken Cedeno via Getty Images)
Declared independence from Mexico
In fact, this is not the first time that calls for independence have come out of Texas. “German independence” actually appeared nearly 200 years ago! Texas was actually part of Mexico in the 19th century, but local European immigrants and mixed descendants of Texans, Mexicans, or indigenous peoples broke away from Mexico in 1836 following launching a war of independence called the “Texas Revolution.” However, just nine years later, Texas joined the United States and became the 28th state. As for whether it will succeed in independence this time, in fact, the U.S. Constitution does not have a mechanism for state referendums to vote for independence. Whether it will ultimately succeed depends on Depending on whether members of Congress from the fifty states support it, it will be very difficult to pass.
US President Biden (person wearing hat) inspects the US-Mexico border. (Jim WATSON / AFP) (JIM WATSON via Getty Images)
Do illegal immigrants contribute to the economy?
In fact, Texas’s anti-immigration policies can be described as “hot or not.” The advantage is that it reduces the use of taxpayer resources to maintain social order. But on the other hand, other states with high living costs, such as California on the West Coast, use legal and Illegal immigrants provide a strong workforce for blue-collar and other jobs and make huge contributions to the economy. California can be said to be a successful example of utilizing immigrant labor. As the U.S. election approaches, Texas, as a Republican vote base, must take into account the voices of its supporters and believe that it will continue to take tough measures once morest illegal immigrants in the short term.
1709385714
#Texas #afford #independence #falling #Washington #immigration #issue
