Tea party insurgents pushing for a harder line on immigration have scored a major victory at the Texas Republican Convention, gutting support of a guest worker program from the party platform.
Roughly 7,000 delegates endorsed making the change Saturday.
Delegates just two years ago endorsed a platform calling for making it easier for people in the U.S. illegally to get good-paying jobs.
Supporters argued it would meet the needs of Texas' fast-growing economy and could serve as a boon to the state's booming Hispanic population.
The convention had appeared poised to pass a plank largely preserving the guest-worker program. But after hours of debate, those who likened that endorsement to amnesty won out.
The vote was so contentious that the convention called an unusual roll-call vote.
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