It is safe to characterize this last presidential election as the most memorable for what will likely be multiple generations to come. Historians note that never has the country been so divided, and many would be hard-pressed to object to that sentiment. While the vernacular has been divisive and filled with abuse, the most pressing questions remain: What happens next? What is President Joe Biden going to do in his first few days in office? What will the president do regarding immigration reform? Lastly, and most pertinent to this article, what will Biden’s immigration policies mean for Texas?

We know that Biden plans to send groundbreaking legislative packages to Congress to address immigration reform, including what’s sure to be a controversial centerpiece: a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 12 million immigrants in the country without legal status. This is particularly important to Texas, which is only second to California in the number of illegal immigrants. California has approximately 3 million illegal immigrants. Texas has about 1.8 million.