Congressman Joaquín Castro, along with a handful of state lawmakers, are pressing Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott on his plans for the Texas DREAM Act.
DREAM stands for: Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. The Texas DREAM Act would allow students without documentation to pay in-state tuition.
At the start of Abbott's campaign for governor, he was asked if he supported the Texas DREAM Act. Abbott dodged the question at the time but later released a statement saying that he felt the law was structurally flawed and needed to be reformed.
Castro has officially requested that Abbott to explain his position.
"Texans deserve to know where Attorney General Greg Abbott stands on the Texas DREAM Act, especially in light of the fact that two or three statewide republican officeholders have said very clearly that they want to repeal it," Castro said.
He said Abbott is simply hedging his bets with Tea Party Republican voters and that Abbott’s appeals to Latino voters must be more than symbolic.
"You can’t go to the Valley or San Antonio or other places and say you are going to be the biggest friend to the Hispanic community when you can’t say you are going to support something that helps hundreds-of-thousands of young Texas Hispanic students," Castro said.
The topic of repealing the Texas DREAM Act became the center of conversation following several heated debates between Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and their past votes on the matter.
Texas DREAM Act was passed by the legislature in 2001 and signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican.
