Case Study: Filemon Vela

A study done by the Pew Hispanic Center in 2010 listed more 1.7 million undocumented residents living in the state of Texas. (Tannahill) The population growth rate, whether by legal or illegal means is only one of the issues that has been troubling state law makers and affecting the state’s water plan. The second issue that is affecting Texas’ water is the drought conditions that the state is currently suffering from.

Today in Texas and the United States, there has been many issues that involve immigration. Many people assume that they are taking the U.S. citizens jobs which is causing many to lose their jobs or the insufficient amount of jobs there are. Or how they don’t belong here, and they should “go back to where they belong.” There are some pros and cons of having immigrants in the state of Texas, and if there is a way to compromise on this subject of if they should be allowed here or not. Also, if the state of Texas should have any play in the immigration policy. After reading the passage “Immigration in Texas” and the arguments both state senators Dan Patrick and Julio Castro were both very persuasive.

Hispanics in America, by doing this he can gain support from people who do not choose to

A potential solution for farmers would be to switch to a subsurface drip irrigation system that could permanently cut farmers' water use by 25 to 50 percent. This would alleviate some of the need for conservation and free up more state water reserves for urban use during time of regional drought (U.S. Water News Online).

The population in Texas is growing by leaps and bounds. According to The Texas Politics Project (2017), “the state’s population grew by 7.2 percent – over 1.8 million people – between 2010 and 2014” (p. 11.10). This growing population also brings with it great diversity, including a growing number of Hispanics. When discussing the population growth that is occurring in Texas, Long (2014) states that, “Hispanic populations have grown rapidly far from the U.S.-Mexico border,

As stated earlier, this past election has seen surprising numbers in the way Texans are voting. Though much of the state, including the 19th congressional district, has remained red. Many of the state’s cities and suburbs have turned blue. This is due in part by the large Hispanic population in Texas. According to an article published by usnews.com it states, “Today, at slightly more than 28 percent, Texas has the second highest share of eligible voters who are Hispanic of any state in the nation...” However, Hispanics are not the only ones to blame for the shift in voting Texas has seen. The millennial generation is more progressive, and in turn tends to vote democratic. The usnews.com article states, “Like Hispanics, millennials have been voting about two to one Democratic.” This has been very alarming for many officials in the GOP. With the rise of the Hispanic population, along with more millennials being provided the opportunity to vote. It is becoming more uncertain whether Texas will remain red in the future.

The Latino population is growing very fast in the state of Texas. There are resident families that are trying to get their extended family members to come to the states to have a better life. It is not as simple to just cross the boarder and actually make it safely across. “Hundreds of migrants die each year attempting to cross our southern border due to the expanded militarization of the border that began with Operation Gatekeeper”(Hart 2122). Making the boarders extremely difficult to get across will not stop people from trying to cross them. People want badly enough to come to Texas they will find a way but the process of coming to Texas should not be so time consuming and

For many years now the state of Texas has been said by many to be the land of opportunity where everyone can reach their aspirations. According to the Texas tribune, “More than 1 million undocumented immigrants live in Texas, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Because of its proximity to Mexico, Texas is second only to California in the number of undocumented immigrants who live in the state. Since the U.S. Congress in 2006 sparked national debate about illegal immigration, the state's immigration policies have become a matter of controversy in the Texas Legislature.”

Texas is a great state with a diversity of people of multiple cultures, races, ethnicities, spiritualties and economic statuses, living and working together every day. The people want to go home because their homes are filled with people they love and services they love that they’ve probably had their whole lives like running water, electricity and sewage. However, there are also people who live in towns called colonias, where those services are a rarity and can only be earned through hard work over many years.

Now Arizona is not the typical state that has a lot of precipitation and rain yearly, but it depends off other reservoirs, lakes, and rivers located in other states to for their water supply. After searching and conducting research, it was found that the main impact Arizona is suffering from the drought is decreasing water levels is from Lake Mead (located in Nevada), and the Colorado River, which flows North to South through several U.S. states. Research and data found shows that the Bureau of Reclamation releases water into the Colorado River below Lake Mead to meet water demands of downstream users in Arizona and California, and also to satisfy treaty obligations to the Republic of Mexico. Findings by the Bureau of Reclamation show that Lake Mead water level’s peaked at 1,214.26 in January of 2000. Almost a decade and a half later, recorded in January 2014, the water levels of Lake Mead are now 1,108.75 (Smith, 2014). This findings show that Arizona is continually getting a decline in water from Lake Mead every month that passes, affects thousands of residents living in Arizona, which already lacks water to begin with. If this continues, this can cause many civilians to both stand by and bare the drought as long as they can, or decide to move out of Arizona to states with a better water supply, so they won’t be burdened with the continual burden of having to ration and conserve water. The state has

Californians are being heavily fined for using a certain amount of water a month, which impacts the daily lives of everyone. Water is a natural resource that is crucial to everyone’s survival. Whether if it’s being used for cooking, showering, gardening, washing your car or just simply drinking purposes; water is a necessity for everyone. Though the bill has not yet been passed by congress and officially has not become a law, the issue still remains on the table. The drought in California has taken a massive toll on agriculture, the environment and infrastructure. The drought is on its route to damage California’s climate change. In the past three consecutive years the average rain fall has drastically decreased, and the winter temperatures have increased. Since majority of California’s water comes from the Western Rocky Mountains, the water supply there is dropping resulting in more strict laws and regulations on how much water can be consumed by the average

handing them over the rights that they can�t use and don�t deserve. �He (Cardenas) doesn�t know

These farmers provide us crops like corn, lettuce, wheat, and lots of other great things, so if they don’t get the water they need for there crops we won't have any of their crops. The people that like in these 7 states need their water because they depend on this water everyday.

Water is a precious resource. It is the lifeblood of every living thing on Earth. California is in the midst of a water crisis. Combined with a three (plus) year drought and many people moving into the state there is not enough water to support the crops the farmers need to grow. There is also a tiny little fish that is causing a mess in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Delta water pumps were turned off to prevent the extinction of the tiny little fish. Some farmers have to let their fields sit idle for the fall and spring planting season. This is causing a lot of problems in California. The pumps need to be turned back on. The needs of the people should come before that of a fish.

Due to the decline of the water levels in Lake mead and Colorado River, this has a huge impact on the the southwest of Arizona. This hugely impacts the agricultural industries and ranchings because they face drought, scouring heat and water shortages which decreases their farms yields and productivity. Because Arizona farmers are dependent on irrigation for vegetation, with a water crisis they would have feed shortages which would cause them to sell their farms with weaker disaster relief support.