Hardworking Texas families are footing the bill for a broken system that subsidizes illegal immigration while their property taxes continue to climb.
That can end if lawmakers finally do what Texas voters expect: put citizens first.
State Rep. Andy Hopper,1 the freshman Republican from Decatur, is attempting to do just that. He’s offering his House Bill 47072 from last session to his fellow Republican colleague Rep. Jared Patterson3 (R-Frisco), encouraging him to file it in 2027 and remove any excuse for delay.
Author Problems?
Why? Because during the last session, the bill died quietly in committee,4 not because the policy was bad, but because of a supposed “author problem.” In Austin-speak, that means the lobby and House leadership simply didn’t like who filed it.
These developments come after a meeting5 in Washington last week with White House officials, where Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller apparently pressed Texas lawmakers on why they hadn’t moved a bill challenging the 1982 Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe.6 That decision forced states to provide free public K-12 education to children of illegal immigrants. Sources say Rep. Patterson blamed the failure on an “author problem.” Patterson reportedly admitted the bill was good policy. But apparently personal differences got in the way.
Hopper didn’t mince words in response.
“It’s unfortunate for Texans that they are represented by individuals who place a higher value on obedience and fealty than solid policy wins that would save our citizens tens of billions of dollars,” he said in a press release.7
“My constituents don’t care who authors a bill; they care about conservative policy.” He even quoted Ronald Reagan: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
Illegals over Citizens
The bill itself was straightforward and long overdue. HB 4707 rewrites key sections of the Texas Education Code to limit admission to public schools, and the benefits that come along with that, to U.S. citizens, nationals, or those lawfully present. No more automatic free education for those here unlawfully.
This isn’t some fringe idea. It aligns perfectly with the Republican Party of Texas platform, which calls for reserving taxpayer-funded, public education for American citizens and legal residents in plank 95. Texas families have had enough of subsidizing lawbreaking at the expense of their own children’s classrooms.
And the actual data backs this up. A January 2026 study8 from the Huffines Liberty Foundation found that educating children of illegal immigrants in Texas public schools has cost taxpayers more than $111 billion since 1992, and likely over $10 billion in the most recent year alone. That’s real money that contributes to the rise in education costs and property taxes. Instead of cutting the tax burden that squeezes Texas property owners, we’re subsidizing education for those who aren’t legally allowed to be here in the first place.
Critics of the bill love to wave the Plyler decision like a shield, but taxpayers are already stretched thin by skyrocketing tax burdens. Every dollar spent on illegal immigrants is a dollar not spent on lowering tax burdens for citizens. Conservatives understand this: growing government by expanding entitlements to those who break our laws is one of the fiscally irresponsible things you could do. You control spending, enforce laws, and protect the people who obey them.
Not Isolated
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case. Too many solid conservative bills died last session because committee chairs and establishment figures put personal power or personality ahead of policy results that Texans are demanding. Bills9 like Rep. Mike Olcott’s ban of taxpayer-funded lobbying,10 despite having 72 co-authors, legislation requiring E-Verify to protect American jobs, election integrity reforms, and measures to root out waste, all failed to pass, or even get a hearing in committee.
Meanwhile, state spending keeps rising,11 and taxpayers get the bill.
This pattern of “author problems” and committee roadblocks is putting Texas farther behind on the reforms that will help keep Texas on the right track. It lets establishment figures pretend to be conservative while often only delivering half-measures, one-off wins, or bigger government and higher taxes.12 The White House summit exposed the fight for what it is: a failure of will among some legislators to tackle the tough issues that actually save money, secure our borders, and protect our future.
Texas voters have been sending clear messages in recent elections: They want border security, lower taxes, and government that works for citizens, not against them. Passing a version of HB 4707 in the 90th Legislative Session would deliver exactly that, and would be a direct challenge to outdated federal overreach.
Policy should win out over personality. Our wallets, our children, and the rule of law, depend on it.
No more excuses. It’s time to put Texas first.
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- https://index.texastaxpayers.com/legislators/andy-hopper/2025-index ↩︎
- https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB%204707 ↩︎
- https://index.texastaxpayers.com/legislators/jared-patterson/2025-index ↩︎
- https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4707 ↩︎
- https://texasscorecard.com/state/author-problem-white-house-summit-exposes-rift-over-texas-bill-to-end-free-education-for-illegals/ ↩︎
- https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/202/ ↩︎
- https://x.com/RepHopper/status/2036068048453476550?s=20 ↩︎
- https://foundation.huffinesliberty.com/cost-of-educating-illegal-aliens-in-texas-government-schools-tops-100-billion/ ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/ken-king-failing-texas-taxpayers-for-over-a-decade/ ↩︎
- https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=892&Bill=HB%20186 ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/texas-government-keeps-getting-bigger/ ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/texas-property-taxes-increased-2-7-billion-in-2025-whats-broken-and-how-do-we-actually-fix-it/ ↩︎
