The following is a press statement from the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, in response to the immigration video Sen. John Cornyn released this week:
Sen. Cornyn’s Concern over Migrant Deaths Must Match His Votes
The Senator is in the position to alleviate this humanitarian crisis at the border, but has so far he has voted to aggravate it
(AUSTIN, Texas) – Sen. John Cornyn this week released an opinion editorial on FoxNews.com and a video on his YouTube page that highlights the ongoing crisis of migrant deaths at the border.
However, as the senator laments this loss of life, he forgets that the situation is a direct result of U.S. immigration and border policy, and that as a senior senator he has directly contributed to the formation of these policies.
RITA shares the senators’ concern over the crisis of migrant deaths. However, we demand that he do more than make YouTube videos and write pieces for Fox News. He must vote for policies that fix the legal immigration system so as to offer migrant workers a safe, legal and orderly way to come to the country. The absence of an functional legal immigration system for migrant workers pushes them into the hands of the smugglers he denounces. He must also reject attempts to further militarize the border, which pushes migrants into the most remote, most dangerous places.
In the markup of the current immigration reform proposal in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Sen. Cornyn did not stand up for the migrants whose deaths this week he laments. During the Senate Judiciary Committee Markup of Titie I, the broder enforcement section of the bill, Sen. Ted Cruz introduced an extreme amendment intended to kill the bill that called for tripling the size of Border Patrol and quadrupling border enforcement spending. Sen. John Cornyn voted with the tea party senator on this poison pill amendment.
Sen. Cornyn also blocked reform in 2006 and 2007. Since those votes, at least 2,500 migrants have died trying to cross the border, based on Border Patrol’s estimate of 500 deaths a year.
Texans deserve better than videos, we deserve votes that reflect our values — that no one should die in a desert because politicians are playing games on immigration reform.
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The Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA) believes that Texas should be front and center in the debate over immigration reform. We are a multi-sector statewide network dedicated to building support for comprehensive immigration reform. RITA presents a common, pro-reform voice and push to fix America’s broken immigration system with fair, humane and sensible policies that foster America’s strength, security and prosperity.
