James Talarico

If you look up our state motto, it's friendship.

The word Texas comes from a Native American word for friend.

And that's what makes Texas such a remarkable place.

We're this big mashup of all these different cultures and people and ideas.

It's made us one of the most exciting and innovative states in the country.

And

Scripture tells us to welcome the stranger because we were once strangers.

You wouldn't be having a guy with the last name Tallarico on your show if this wasn't a nation of immigrants.

Everyone has that in their story, in their family.

And we people understand that immigrants who are coming here to build a better life, to contribute to our economy, to make us richer and stronger, we want them here.

We want to make it easier for them to come here.

But anyone who means to do us harm,

needs to be kept out.

Anyone who does us harm needs to be deported immediately.

Public safety is the most important thing a government does.

The most important thing the government does.

Well, I'm against chaos.

And I think what most Texans are upset about in our immigration system is the chaos they see, particularly on our southern border.

I think most people around the world like where they live as much as I love America.

A lot of people love their homes, but if someone wants to come and fill one of the 8 million jobs that needs to be filled, if they want to do the work that none of us want to do, I heard from an avocado farmer in California who said in 20 years of business, never had an American citizen apply to work there, not one.