With a flood of immigrant children pouring into the U.S., Texas Democrats say the answer is a softer policy response.
State Republicans, meanwhile, have emphasized securing the border.
The divide over how to frame what both sides agree is a "humanitarian crisis" underscores deeper divisions on the larger issue of immigration. And each party has declared its approach key to wooing voters among Texas' booming Hispanic population.
At their state convention this weekend, Texas Democrats endorsed in their party platform a "path to citizenship" for immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
But two weeks earlier, state Republicans passed a hard-line immigration approach.
Party platforms are largely ceremonial. Still, so many young immigrants crossing the border might mean what otherwise would just be political rhetoric could get a real-world test.
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