Nov. 19, 2023
Dear Editor,
Donald Trump continues to campaign on his extreme, cruel and deeply out-of-touch policies that could hurt hardworking Texas families and make life worse for the Latino community. Trump has refused to rule out reinstating and even expanding his Muslim ban, supporting mass detention camps for immigrants and pushing to end birthright citizenship – all while keeping the door open to restoring his cruel and inhumane past policies of separating families at the border.
Trump’s visit to our southern border with Greg Abbott today is no coincidence. Last week, Texas Republicans in the legislature passed one of the most extreme border bills in state history under Abbott’s directive, SB 4 – a new law aimed at targeting, imprisoning and deporting vulnerable migrants while also criminalizing Texas residents based on their perceived citizenship status and the color of their skin.
A second presidential term for Trump would be devastating for hardworking Texas families, our Black and Brown communities, and the very institutions that uphold our democracy and make us the United States of America – all while doing nothing to make us safer. Here in Texas, we have a front row seat to what happens when Republican politicians like Abbott use human beings as political props. Trump’s immigration plans for 2025 will only further empower Texas Republicans’ cruelty and do nothing to solve the challenges Texas communities are facing. Texas Democrats vehemently oppose Trump’s extreme and cruel anti-immigration policies that could once again separate families, reinstate racist travel bans, divide our country and hurt Latino communities.
While Trump and Abbott parade their racist immigration policies in Edinburg, President Biden and Democrats are working to implement humane proposals that actually strengthen our immigration system.
Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman
Texas Democratic Party