Texas eyeing Arizona-like immigration law

AUSTIN, Texas, April 28 (UPI) -- Texas could follow Arizona's trailblazing immigration law if two lawmakers can get enough support to pass bills they say they intend to introduce next year.

Texas state Rep. Leo Berman says he is planning a package of bills next January that include one measure that would make it a crime to be an undocumented worker and another allowing law enforcement officials to ask people they believe may be in the country illegally about their status, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Wednesday.

"I think almost every state in the union will follow suit," Berman said.

Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, has said she also plans to introduce a similar bill.

"The first priority for any elected official is to make sure that the safety and security of Texans is well-established," Riddle told Hearst Newspapers. "If our federal government did their job, then Arizona wouldn't have to take this action, and neither would Texas."

Tyler's KLTV-TV reported Berman also wants to require U.S. presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove their citizenship to the Texas secretary of state before their names can be put on the ballot, a nod to the so-called birther movement.

The station said opponents of the proposed legislation say it will get a different reception in Texas than in Arizona.