Immigration Reform 2014: Texas Businesses Form Coalition to Press for Immigration Reform

A group of Texas businesses are forming a coalition to urge the state legislature to pass immigration reform legislation. 

Business associations representing Texas restaurants, retailers and hotels are forming the coalition, according to CBS Dallas. The groups are slated to launch their efforts Monday morning at the Texas capitol building. 

Members of the coordinated coalition include the Texas Association of Retailers, Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Property Rights Association and Texas Hotel and Lodging Association. 

The coalition will join the Partnership for a New Economy, a national, non-partsian group that is lobbying to reform federal immigration laws. The group includes industries that have a tough time finding low-skilled workers, and could benefit from recruiting low-skilled immigrants to work at their businesses. 

While immigration is an important issue with Texans, Republican candidates have taken a strong stance against immigration. Most Republican candidates oppose legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants. 

However, states currently have a higher chance of passing reform than the federal government as immigration reform has languished in the Senate since last summer. 

The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill in June, but a majority of Republicans in the House are opposed to passing sweeping legislation. Instead, House Republicans have expressed a willingness to pass reform in a piecemeal fashion. 

House Speaker John Boehner released a series of immigration principles along with his fellow Republicans at the annual Republican caucus, which included tightened border security in addition to visas for high-skilled workers.

However, Republicans have not moved on those proposals. Speaker Boehner said he is reluctant to push reform forward out of fear that President Barack Obama will not enforce immigration laws. 

Analysts predict that Republicans are putting off passing reform until after the 2014 midterm congressional elections because most of their constituents oppose the passage of immigration reform.