From The Texas Newsroom:
Republicans in some of the country’s highest elected offices took to the Republican National Convention Tuesday evening to paint America’s southern border as an entry point for a lot of what’s ailing the United States.
The fiery rhetoric came on the second night of the convention that saw former President Donald Trump officially become the party’s nominee on Monday, just days after being shot in the ear during an unsuccessful assassination attempt.
Republicans and Democrats immediately pleaded for Americans to tone down their political rhetoric in the shooting’s aftermath. But Republicans didn’t pull any punches when it came to their criticism of President Joe Biden’s border policies on Tuesday, where the theme of the night was “Make America Safe Once Again”.
“Never before has an election mattered so much. We are facing an invasion on our southern border,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said. “Not figuratively, a literal invasion: 11.5 million people have crossed our border illegally under Joe Biden.” (Fact checkers have disputed the figure, calling it inflated or misleading.)
Cruz then mentioned the killing of 12-year-old Houstonian Jocelyn Nungaray, who was found strangled to death last month in a shallow creek after authorities said she left her family’s apartment on June 16. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, Venezuelan nationals who federal agents have said crossed the border illegally, were arrested and charged with her murder.
The men entered the United States earlier this year; both were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents near El Paso and later released with an order to appear in immigration court.
“It was just one month ago today that she was brutally raped and murdered in Houston by two men who were supposed to be detained and monitored, but instead released and allowed to roam free,” Cruz said. “Every. Damn. Day. These aren’t just stories or statistics. They’re our daughters. Our sisters. Our friends.”
Cruz, who is up for reelection this November, later alleged that the Biden administration and Democrats were turning a blind eye to the border to ramp up the voter rolls in their favor. That statement came despite previous debunking of Republican claims that undocumented citizens are lining up to vote and tilt the outcomes of elections.
“How did we get here? It happened because Democrats cynically decided they wanted votes from illegals more than they wanted to protect our children,” he said.
Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Eric Gay / AP
Immigration is an easy and obvious target for Republicans after unauthorized crossings hit record levels under Biden’s tenure. Republicans blame Biden’s early efforts to end Trump-era policies – including ending the Remain in Mexico policy and Title 42 – for the increase in crossings (Remain in Mexico required migrants to wait south of the Rio Grande until their immigration hearings and Title 42 was a public health policy that allowed border agents to expel migrants from the country without the chance to apply for asylum).
There has also been a record level of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that’s often mixed with prescription medication, entering the United States. Data shows that most of the fentanyl coming into the country is smuggled through ports of entry – often by U.S. citizens – and not by undocumented immigrants. But Republicans dismiss that argument and blame the Biden administration for the spike in overdoses.
Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Arizona, spoke before Cruz on Tuesday and said Democrats have “handed over control” of Arizona to drug cartels.
“Because of them, criminals and deadly drugs are pouring in, and our children are dying,” she said, echoing the disputed claim that most migrants come to the United States to commit crimes.
Later, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., repeated another claim that analysts have debunked: that foreign governments are emptying their prisons and encouraging inmates to enter the United States.
“On the border: Biden has opened it up to the entire world. Prisons are being emptied,” he said. “We will lock down the border and yes, we will finish building the wall.”
That was followed by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said immigrants are siphoning resources meant for U.S. citizens.
“We cannot allow the many millions of illegal aliens they’ve allowed to cross our borders to harm our citizens, drain our resources or disrupt our elections,” he said.
Border issues have also raised Gov. Greg Abbott’s national profile. Abbott has bused tens of thousands of migrants from Texas to states led by Democrats in what he says is an effort to relieve some of the pressure on border communities. The tactic has led Democratic leaders in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. to scramble to provide services for some of the migrants who are bused there.
Texas Democrats push back on GOP border narrative
The Texas Democratic Party fired back at Cruz in a statement Tuesday night, including a timeline of what it called the senator’s “border obstruction.” That includes Cruz’s opposition to a 2013 omnibus immigration bill, called the “Gang of 8” bill, which Cruz said was little more than amnesty.
He also opposed a $118 billion bipartisan Senate bill introduced earlier this year that would have restricted border entries if unauthorized crossings reached a certain limit, and increased the standards for migrants seeking asylum.
“Ted Cruz has been given every opportunity to work across the aisle to secure our border, and every single time he says no. That’s because he cares more about political games than actual solutions,” Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said in a statement.
Hours before Tuesday’s RNC speeches began, Democrats and advocacy groups were already warning about the danger the GOP has embraced when talking about undocumented immigrants.
“The MAGA extremists that are my colleagues are doing everything possible to paint immigrants as criminals. They want the American public to fear and loathe immigrants,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said during a conference call Tuesday morning. “The language that they use is alarming. And it is the same language and rhetoric that Donald Trump used during his first term.”
Escobar added the rhetoric characterizing immigration as an “invasion” echoes the words used by a white supremacist who killed 23 peoplein a hate-fueled rampage at an El Paso Walmart. The five-year anniversary of the shooting is Saturday, Aug. 3.
“On that day in 2019, that gunman – who had easy access to an assault style weapon – published his screed before he walked into the Walmart and used his weapon to slaughter 23 innocent people and injured dozens of others,” she said, referring to a manifesto the shooter posted on social media before his deadly spree. In it, the shooter said his attack was a response to an “invasion” of Hispanics.
Rep. Escobar and Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group America’s Voice, said the GOP’s vision on immigration is clearly outlined with the selection of U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, as Trump’s running mate and within the Project 2025 conservative policy blueprint. The sweeping plan – which was spearheaded by the conservative Heritage Foundation – includes mass deportations without proper due process, banning certain foreign nationals from entering the United States, and possibly building detention camps for undocumented immigrants who have been rounded up, the New York Times reported.
“Senator Vance has been a consistent source of disinformation of on immigrants, the border, and conspiracy theories. Vance’s pick confirms that the hard line that Trump has embraced on immigration will continue in their plans, as laid out on project 2025,” Cardenas said.
Escobar also cited reports that show immigrants, undocumented and otherwise, commit fewer crimes than U.S. citizens.
A recent report by the CATO Institute found that in Texas, the crime rate is slightly lower for migrants.
“The conviction and arrest rates of illegal and legal immigrants, separately and together, were lower than those of native‐born Americans for homicide and all crimes in Texas during the 2013-2022 period,” according to the report.
