TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT’S BORDER CRUELTY HITS NEW LOW
The extreme cruelty by Texas authorities at the border came to light this week in a Houston Chronicle story detailing a horrendous whistleblower account of moms and children caught in barbed wire, kids being pushed back into the Rio Grande, and migrants denied water. America’s Voice responded with a statement quoting both Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas and Texas-based Campaigns Director Mario Carrillo. This was followed by an AV statement lifting up the searing reactions of Texas advocates and elected officials, amplified across AV media by AVES, the AV blog, and social media posts. AV also put the allegations into the context of the larger push to dehumanize immigrants, the continued use of immigration as a political tool, and GOP attempts to wrest immigration policy from the Biden administration. The week culminated with an insightful Ron Brownstein column for The Atlantic quoting AV Legal Advisor David Leopold, among others, adding the broader context to the story about craven cruelty at the border.
TO REPUBLICANS LIKE ABBOTT, MIGRANTS ARE SUB-HUMAN
In their weekly column, America’s Voice En Español Director Maribel Hastings and Spanish-language Advisor David Torres further analyzed the whistleblower account of horrific abuses against migrants by Texas troopers. Troopers were ordered, according to the Houston Chronicle report, to not provide water to the migrants, even in the midst of the intense and deadly heat hitting the region. “Basically, if it sounds inhumane and extremely cruel, that’s because it is,” Hastings and Torres wrote. “It’s about what you would imagine runs through the minds of politicians like Abbott and so many others of his kind: that is, the treatment of migrants as if they are sub-human. It’s as if the family separation policy of Donald J. Trump and his advisor, Stephen Miller, were taken to its maximum level of cruelty, allowing children and babies to drown.” Their column was also published at La Opinión and Radio Bilingüe. Read it in English here and in Spanish here.
WHERE ARE GOP LAWMAKERS AND CANDIDATES ON BORDER CRUELTY?
While the horrific mistreatment of migrants at the Texas border is a direct result of Gov. Greg Abbott’s costly and cruel Operation Lone Star scheme, it’s a stain on the Republican Party overall. We have yet to hear whether GOP lawmakers and candidates from the border region, including Texas Rep. Monica De La Cruz, Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani, and former Texas Rep. Mayra Flores, support the draconian practice of pushing children into a deadly river. To his credit, Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales tweeted that he found it “disturbing for anyone, much less a child, to be deprived of water in 100-degree weather, regardless of their immigration status.” But these reported abuses happened along Gonzales’ district, and it’s unclear if he’s done more than just tweet. Read more here.
NEW CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL LEADERS AND VICTORIES
America’s Voice is excited to share a sneak peek into a new campaign lifting up local leaders and victories from across the country. One of the first interviews from the Voices from the Frontlines campaign is with Arizonan José Patiño, Vice President of Education and External Affairs at immigrant-led organization Aliento. Patiño was among the leaders and advocates who were instrumental in passage of Proposition 308 in last year’s midterms. The historic measure opened in-state tuition rates to young undocumented immigrants who have called Arizona home. But it was in fact a win for the state overall, because young people are Arizona’s future. “We know that if we allow them to be able to pursue their dreams, good things are going to happen,” Patiño said. Watch America’s Voice Campaigns Director Mario Carrillo and Aliento’s José Patiño discuss the historic win here.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS HOLD HEARING ATTACKING DACA RECIPIENTS
A House subcommittee this week held an equally ridiculous and pernicious hearing attacking beneficiaries of one of the most popular immigration programs in recent modern U.S. history. The hearing, “Why Expanding Medicaid to DACA Recipients Will Exacerbate the Border Crisis,” is absurd because applicants must have continuously lived here since 2007, meaning that no one arriving to the border today would be eligible. And because of a Texas-led lawsuit, no new applicants can enroll in the program anyway. “Of course, it’s not the first time we’ve seen DACA blamed for something related at the border,” America’s Voice Editor Gabe Ortíz writes. “This is actually just a rehashed argument from another time Republicans controlled the chamber. Republicans also tried to conflate the two when tens of thousands of vulnerable children arrived at the border in search of asylum back in 2014.” Read more here.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS PUSH BACK ON GOP’S ANTI-IMMIGRANT ATTACK
Thankfully, House Democrats at the hearing on DACA forcefully pushed back on the harmful and absurd arguments spewed by Republicans. Among them was New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who questioned whether GOP members who want to block DACA recipients from Medicaid would also return the billions of tax dollars these immigrants pay into our system annually. “If there’s any individual that believes in stripping Medicaid from DACA recipients, I would like to know if they are willing to give the $6.6 billion dollars that DACA recipients pay in federal taxes back to them,” she said. Click here to share an AV graphic featuring Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks at the GOP hearing.
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS
Our friends at FWD.us have released a video highlighting Taylor Levy, an immigration attorney and relentless champion for migrants at the border. While the anti-asylum Title 42 policy is no longer in place after it expired this past May, “the new Asylum Ban is still keeping asylum seekers from accessing legal pathways to safety,” FWD.us said. “Taylor understands that access to asylum lives up to the best promise of what America can be for people seeking safety.” Watch the video highlighting Levy and her vital work exemplifying American ideals here.
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