Immigration fight spills into House foster care bill debate

AUSTIN, Texas - The opening efforts by the Texas House to solve the state's foster care crisis erupted into a fierce debate over immigration on Wednesday, when a Republican lawmaker proposed ending financial assistance for adoptions of at-risk children by relatives in the country illegally.

Lawmakers eventually passed the chamber's first two major bills of a legislative session that began nearly two months ago - both aimed at mending foster care system that a federal judge has ruled is unconstitutional - but not before a roughly hour-long, raucous argument over immigration that featured accusations of racism.

The unexpected diversion came weeks after the Texas Senate passed a hotly contested bill prohibiting "sanctuary cities," and potentially jailing law enforcement officials who don't help enforce federal immigration policies, - underscoring Republicans' determination to impose tough immigration policies in the era of President Donald Trump.

The House flap started when Republican Rep. Mark Keough, of The Woodlands in suburban Houston, tried to amend a major, bipartisan bill to increase state spending on efforts to persuade relatives to adopt abused and neglected children as part of so-called "kinship care."

The proposal, touted as one of the House's main pieces of foster care legislation, would give more financial assistance to grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members who adopt a relative by providing monthly lump sums that in some cases could reach almost $520. The program currently provides a one-time "integration payment" of $1,000 per child and an annual reimbursement of about $500 per child, regardless of the caregiver's immigration status.

But Keough proposed a change to say that Texas would be barred from providing money to a relative or caregiver "who is not lawfully present in the United States." He said payments to such people who adopt a relative are equivalent to an "entitlement."

"I'm not asking anybody to leave," Keough said. "All I'm saying is if they are not documented we wouldn't fund them."

The idea drew instant backlash from Democrats and some Republicans, who accused Keough of trying to hijack a top legislative priority intended to help the state's most vulnerable children.

Dallas Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia blasted Keough's proposal as creating a litmus test that would turn the state agency that oversees foster care into an "immigration cop."

"You're trying to conflate children who are in desperate need with law breakers," he said. "As the son of immigrants to this country and a proud Latino, this feels really racist."

The amendment also split Republicans. An emotional Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, said he was "heartbroken to be part of this."

"I feel like crying today," Cook told the chamber.

Keough scrapped his amendment amid intense pressure, and lawmakers quickly passed the bill to bump up kinship payments without the immigration language. Also Wednesday, the House approved a proposal to restructure the state agency in charge of foster care. Republican Speaker Joe Straus hailed the passage of the bills.

Gov. Greg Abbott has declared foster care reform a priority for the session as the state appeals a federal court ruling from 2015 that found Texas' system unconstitutionally flawed and ordered an independent overhaul. More than 100 children died last year after the agency failed to adequately investigate tips about abuse and neglect.

The state's foster care agency is also facing a $40 million budget shortfall in addition to overwhelming caseloads for its employees, rapid staff turnover and a severe shortage of high-quality foster homes. Before the session even started, lawmakers approved nearly $150 million in emergency funding to hire 800-plus workers and give pay raises to 7,000 employees.