Texas Senators Not Qualified to Give Tour of Border Communities – RAICES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 14, 2022Press Contact: Jessica Ortiz, [emailprotected]

TEXAS In response to the news that Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are bringing a group of GOP Senators to tour the South Texas border later this week, RAICES issued the following statement:

We are not surprised that Texass Republican senators have devised another political stunt to fuel xenophobia and rally Trump voters ahead of a critical midterm election. Like Governor Abbott, these politicians have no plan to protect the lives of people seeking safety at our border, and would rather support cruel and racist policies that endanger refugees and service providers.

Unlike our Senators who are only visiting the border to score political points, RAICES is here everyday to support immigrants and refugees in need. It is intentional and unfortunate that Cruz and Cornyn will be consciously omitting from their tour the truth of what we are seeing at the Texas-Mexico border: Communities coming together to care for and support each other in the face of immigration policies that have decimated our asylum system, and forced people to make unimaginable choices in their journey to seek safety and refuge in the U.S.

The reality is that the so-called turmoil at the border that these lawmakers have exploited for their own political gain was created and exacerbated by policies like Title 42 and Remain in Mexico. Cruz, Cornyn, and other GOP lawmakers have been fighting ardently to maintain these racist Trump-era policies, including championing Rep. Lankfords current attempt to codify Title 42 into law.

Seeking safety is a human right and RAICES and communities across the border are ready to welcome people seeking asylum to our communities. People seek asylum because their lives, and the lives of their children depend on it. Restoring a fair asylum process will help keep people safe and families together. Thats what we should be focusing on, not meaningless stunts for political attention.

###The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. Learn more at Raicestexas.org

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Texas Senators Not Qualified to Give Tour of Border Communities - RAICES