Washington, DC – Fox News reported today that multiple Texas counties are set to declare that the “migrant crisis at the southern border is an ‘invasion.’”
The following is a statement from Zachary Mueller, Political Director of America’s Voice:
“The new ‘invasion’ declaration is the height of dangerous and cynical politics. Far from being restrained after the Buffalo white supremacist shooter cited ‘invasion’ and ‘white replacement’ conspiracies, Republicans in Texas and across the country are now doubling down on their mainstreaming of white nationalist conspiracies while others in the GOP continue stay silent and complicit. Before Buffalo, there was mass murder at a Walmart in El Paso motivated by the fear that Latino immigrants were invading the U.S. Before that there was the mass murder at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and at mosques in New Zealand and on and on and on.
Most recently, the deaths of more than 50 men, women, and children in a tractor trailer near San Antonio should be a horrific reminder that our current, deterrence-only focus gets it backwards, empowering traffickers and incentivizing dangerous treks across Mexico instead of safe and accessible legal channels coupled with an orderly approach to border management. For decades we have tried to seal the border, with deadly consequences, rather than find ways to manage immigration intelligently with visas, refugee programs and a fair process for asylum seekers.
But, of course, this is about cynical politics not a debate about sensible policy solutions.
The conflation of high numbers of border encounters with border enforcement agents as evidence the border is being “invaded,” is “out of control” or is “open” is dizzying in its contradictions. It’s a distortion aimed at scoring political points, not a critique worthy of being taken seriously. Recall that even before President Biden took office, Republicans accused him of driving up migration numbers. Now, the GOP continues with their scare tactics, falsehoods, and relentless drumbeat of nativist ugliness, despite the proven dangers of doing so.
Republicans’ motivations are about stoking fear in pursuit of political power, not actually addressing solutions around immigration and the border or proposing anything different than the same cruel mixture of walls and deterrence. They recycle the failed policies that President Trump and Stephen Miller put in place hoping they are a secret sauce for attracting voters. That is a political strategy, not a border security or immigration strategy. The nation is in need of a clear immigration and border security strategy after decades of mainly Republican obstructions. Rather than weaponizing a solvable public policy issue, we should be debating how our border security fits into our larger vision for America and how to modernize our immigration system.”
- Check out ongoing examples of Republicans’ anti-immigrant ads at the America’s Voice GOP Ad Tracker: http://gopadtracker.com/
- Read about the America’s Voice bilingual campaign, “Show Me Your Friends,” initially focused on six Republicans running in House battleground districts that run along parts of the U.S./Mexico border. There’s a wise saying in Spanish, “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres” – show me your friends and I’ll show you who you are” – that is the inspiration for the campaign. Republican candidates along the border have refused to distance themselves or denounce Republicans’ dangerous extremism on immigration and the border, including the “invasion” and “white replacement” rhetoric and conspiracy theories. Watch an explainer video about the campaign HERE. Watch individual videos focused on each of the GOP candidates HERE.
