A March 30, 2015 hearing on a Senate bill designating the Texas Secretary of State office as the Refugee Coordinator for the Office of Immigration and Refugees Affairs has been cancelled. SB 838, authored by Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., seeks to house the OIRA in the Texas SOS office unless the Governor appoints someone other than the SOS as refugee coordinator.
Lucio’s bill stipulates the refugee coordinator would serve as “chief administrative office” of the office and “shall ensure coordination of public and private resources in refugee resettlement”.
One function of the office is “arranging meetings with appropriate local, state and federal authorities and the appropriate corresponding authorities in Mexico to develop increased communication, cooperation, and coordination to establish initiatives and government-supported efforts that limit the entrance of undocumented immigrants into this state”.
Section 752.021 would create a Governor’s Advisory Committee on Immigration and Refugees within Governor Abbott’s office
Members of the committee would include “three representatives from faith-based organizations that assist local governments with matters related to immigrants and refugees” and “one representative from a service organization that works with immigrants or refugees”.
The bill was referred to the Sub Committee on Border Security on March 4.