Austin, TX — Last week, vulnerable incumbent Senator John Cornyn released a Spanish-language ad that falsely claimed Cornyn “strongly supports the legalization of DREAMers” despite the fact that Cornyn has a long history of voting against DREAMers, undermining DACA, and trying to kill bipartisan immigration reform. Earlier today, America’s Voice, DREAMers, and immigration activists called out Cornyn for his blatant hypocrisy on DACA.
In Case You Missed It:
- “I know John Cornyn. When he first came to DC he invited me to dinner to discuss the need to pass bipartisan immigration reform. I thought he was serious. He wasn’t and isn’t. Cornyn’s ad claim that he ‘strongly supports the legalization of Dreamers’ is a bald-faced lie… When you look up the phrase ‘two-faced politician,’ you’ll find a photo of John Cornyn.” – Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Vote
- “As someone who is married to a DACA-recipient, when I vote, I vote not only for myself, but for my mixed-status family. Families like mine can’t trust John Cornyn to do the right thing… He must think that we’re not paying attention, and that people like my parents, also naturalized citizens and voters who were the targets of his offensive and untrue ad, would fall for the Cornyn Con, but we know better. We need leaders in Texas who won’t use DACA-recipients as pawns.” – Mario Carrillo, Campaigns Director of America’s Voice
- “In 2005, I started organizing with immigrant youth and I learned that Senator Cornyn was the enemy for immigrants in Texas. I still recall in December 2010, sitting in the Senate gallery with hundreds of undocumented youth from Texas and across the nation. We watched as Cornyn voted nonchalantly against the Dream Act, [with] no regards to the thousands of Texas youths and families needing a permanent solution. In my 15 years organizing, countless times we went to his office in DC and had actions in his offices across the state to no avail. To be clear, Cornyn is anti-immigrant, anti-Dreamer and anti-worker.” – Julieta Garibay, National Immigrant Rights Leader
- “Recently, Senator Cornyn released an ad stating that he supports a permanent solution for Dreamers, which is completely false. Sen. Cornyn has had multiple chances of supporting legislation to protect Dreamers but instead he has decided to vote against us… Unlike Cornyn, we immigrant youth are committed to continue to fight for a permanent solution that protects us without harming or deporting others. In Texas, we need a senator that is committed to support legislation that would give permanent solutions to immigrants and not use us as bargaining chips for more enforcement.” – Daniel Briones, Texas Resident and DACA Recipient
