A North Texas Republican congressman says it's time for the GOP to offer a comprehensive immigration reform plan.
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), tells NBC 5's Lone Star Politics that he will soon introduce a bill that will establish a path to citizenship for the minor children of illegal immigrants and a guest worker program.
"If the only illegal act they committed was coming into the country without proper documentation we'd put them on a path to legalization," Barton said.
He added that the children of illegal immigrants should not be punished for the acts of their parents.
"My little boy is eight years old," Barton said. "He's in public schools in Ennis, Texas. Half of his class is Hispanic. His two best friends are Hispanic. They start every day raising their hand, pledging allegiance to the American Flag and to the Texas flag. They're Americans and we need to acknowledge that and find a way to those that wish to be a part of the American dream for opportunity to make them legal."
Barton added, "Republicans need to start talking about this. I'm part of a majority party in the largest state that's still majority Republican. And I want to keep it that way.".
Watch Lone Star Politics with NBC 5's Kevin Cokely and Gromer Jeffers from The Dallas Morning News Sunday at 8:40 a.m. on NBC 5.
