Rep. Escobar: “Every single American must denounce and stand firmly against this anti-American agenda.”
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WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), with representatives from America’s Voice, the Niskanen Center, Vera Action, and the American Civil Liberties Union, held a press briefing on the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The participants reacted to the announcement of Senator J.D. Vance as the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, who has been a leading endorser of Trump’s plan for mass deportations. The group previewed the extreme rhetoric expected during today’s convention programming, which will center around Trump’s plan for mass deportations. The Republican party delegates adopted mass deportation as a main policy goal in the 2024 Republican Party platform, also repeating dangerous language about an immigrant “invasion,” which has been linked to multiple acts of domestic terrorism, including the attack in El Paso five years ago next month.
“From the reimplementation of mass detention and family separation, to the threats of military force at our southern border and more, Project 2025 is a right-wing extremist’s dark vision for America that is centered around attacks on immigrant and border communities under a second Trump administration,” said Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16). “Consistent with the anti-immigration directives from the first Trump term, Stephen Miller and other former Trump officials involved in the creation of this xenophobic blueprint are setting out to remake the United States in their white-only, supposed-Christian image. Every single American must denounce and stand firmly against this anti-American agenda.”
“Senator Vance has been a consistent source of disinformation on immigrants, the border and conspiracy theories. Vance’s pick confirms that the hard line that Trump has embraced on immigration will continue, and their plans as laid out on Project 2025 are to expel millions of long settled immigrants, including Dreamers, among other extreme proposals” said Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director, America’s Voice. “In brief, we expect that the RNC will display a dark and dystopian vision of immigration and immigrants, full of disinformation.”
“Fear has always been a powerful political force on the campaign trail, but only if left unchecked. We know there are winning messages and policies that counter the far right’s agenda of stoking fear over immigration and crime and reflect the will of American voters across the political spectrum,” said Insha Rahman, Director of Vera Action. “What voters actually want is safety, security, and stability–not divisive rhetoric and plans that undermine our communities, culture, and economy. As we look to November, we call on candidates and elected leaders to reject extremism and focus on solutions that make life safer, more secure, and stable for all of us.”
“Project 2025 is a blueprint for how a second Trump administration will implement an agenda that diverges significantly even from traditional conservative platforms by taking autonomy away from the states, cutting programs for families and seniors, and making it more expensive for all but the rich to live and work in America,” said Kristie De Peña, Niskanen Center. “These are not the policies of an administration that wants to help struggling businesses and families or enhance the security and prosperity of our nation.”
“A second Trump administration would enact immigration policies that are by far crueler, more extreme, and more fundamentally damaging to core rights and freedoms than any in living memory, including former president Trump’s own 2017-21 policies,” said Naureen Shah, Deputy Director of Government Affairs, Equality Division at the ACLU. “Despite the challenges at the border, voters know that cruel and racist measures such as those outlined in Project 2025 and lauded by the Trump campaign are not the way forward. That’s why we must begin mobilizing with local and state governments now to protect communities nationwide from extreme anti-immigrant policies.”
