12 APR 2022
Hub Highlights: Backlash to Republican Stunts
In response to President Biden ending Title 42, a harmful policy that has had detrimental impacts on children and families, Republicans have ramped up their legislative and campaign attacks against Democrats, using the administration’s border policies as the current centerpiece of their midterm strategy. Republican candidates and governors have inserted themselves in the debate, pulling stunts and deploying millions in hyperbolic advertising while GOP members of Congress attempt to move legislation to keep Title 42 in place and dismantle America’s asylum system.
Notably, both Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida have taken matters into their own hands to undermine President Biden’s plan to safely process refugees and asylum seekers and reunite families. Their stunts have created backlash:
A bombshell new report from The Texas Tribune details how Governor Abbott’s political stunt to have state troopers inspect commercial vehicles at south Texas border crossings is having major economic consequences. Abbott’s decision in response to the administration’s end to Title 42 is “killing business,” likely causing consumer costs to rise and supply chain bottlenecks to worsen. One trucker told El Mañana that “prior to Abbott’s order, he made two crossings into the U.S. a day. Now, he’d be lucky to have one or two a week given the long delays at the bridges.” What does this mean for Gov. Abbott’s constituents? According to state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, whose district includes the Pharr bridge, “This is hurting people in their pocketbook.”
Fact Check: According to Abbott, his new ploy is a way of stopping drug and human smugglers. However, most Republicans voted against funding for screening and upgrades at ports of entry where 99% of all illegal drugs enter the United States. President Biden’s plan has long been cracking down on cartels, drug traffickers and human smugglers, with record apprehensions.
U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, joined a chorus of elected officials from the border who called on Abbott to rethink his strategy, saying the Texas Department of Public Safety inspections duplicate inspections already conducted by the federal government at the ports of entry. “Governor Abbott’s unnecessary secondary inspections are killing business on the border,” Gonzalez said in a written statement to The Texas Tribune. “If this continues it will cause further supply line issues impacting America. And we will see prices of produce and other imports rise at the grocery store. He needs to allow the U.S. Customs and Border [Protection] inspection folks to do their job.”
Today, the Florida Immigrant Coalition deployed a $25,000 radio ad buy against Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. De Santis, launched on several Spanish radio stations. The new ad hits Sen. Marco Rubio for supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican policies to stop efforts to reunite unaccompanied migrant children with their families. According to POLITICO, “the ads include audio from a voicemail from his mother that surfaced amid the immigration debate that occurred in Washington, D.C. nearly a decade ago. In the voicemail, Rubio’s mother tells him ‘don’t mess with the immigrants, my son.’ The ad contends in Spanish that ‘Marco Rubio reneged where he comes from.’” Listen to the ad here.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.