NOV 15, 2019
A delegation of Laredo activists traveled to Washington D.C. this week to bring the Laredo story to Congress. The group hosted by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, joined a larger delegation from the Rio Grande Valley, as the government faces another shutdown and moves quickly to seize private Texas lands to build the border wall.
During meetings with dozens of Republicans and Democrats, the group urged lawmakers to not authorize any more funding for the Wall and to finally end the 2005 Real ID Act waiver that allows the government to waive every single American law along the border – unlike other regions in the country – to rush construction of the wall.
“We must not allow our community to be pitted against federal employees if the government shuts down over border wall funding, again,” said Tricia Cortez, executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center.
“They, like us, are being used in a political game where studies, logic, and facts aren’t welcome or wanted,” Cortez said. “We came to ask members of Congress to hold the line: no wall funding in any compromise bill.”
The Laredo group included Cortez, RGISC Board President Melissa R. Cigarroa, attorney Carlos E. Flores, Lyndon B. Johnson HS instructor Michael Carrillo, and riverfront landowner and educator Joseph Hein.
RGISC and Hein are plaintiffs in a national lawsuit filed by Earthjustice challenging President Trump’s Feb. 15 national emergency declaration.
“This is a historic moment in Laredo as we confront an existential threat to our way of life,” said Cigarroa, whose family owns property along the river in Zapata County and uses it for fishing, birding and relaxation.
Laredo has become ground zero in the current crisis that has bitterly divided the country along party lines. The DC delegation included a cross mix of First Nations, families, and environmental and faith-based activists.
“Coming to DC revealed several things,” Flores said.
“There are people throughout the US who stand with Laredo and will be part of our fight,” he noted, adding, “Laredo needs to be more engaged in this fight and pressure our local elected officials to fight harder. Together, we can stop this racist monument from being built in our historic and beautiful community.”
Raul E. Garcia, legislative director at Earthjustice, explained why it’s critical to bring real people from impacted communities that are on the forefront of the border wall conversation.
“Washington should not determine what happens on the border without consulting and understanding communities there,” Garcia said.
“Everything is at stake,” he said. “From the fundamental belief that this is a welcoming land of hope and freedom, to the very integrity of our national constitution, and the real harms that this wall can cause to border communities. It’s a sad day in which these principles have to be protected from our own president.”
One highlight included a press conference held outside the Capitol, hosted by Congressman Filemon Vela of Brownsville who was joined by Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, and Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York.
Luis Nasvytis Torres, senior legislative representative with Earthjustice, explained what’s at stake.
“Soon Congress will vote on whether or not to fund President Trump’s border wall, and if so, how much money to give to it,” Nasvytis Torres said.
“But the fight over wall funding is about more than just the wall,” he added. “It’s about the fight to define the border, the people who live in border communities, and the lives of those who will come after them. There are real human consequences to so-called ‘compromise’ here – this isn’t just a matter of dollars and cents. This is a fight for human lives.”
Joining RGISC were national representatives from the United Methodist Church, members of the Society of Native Nations and the Carrizo Comecrudo tribe, and the Ramirez family who is fighting to protect their historic cemeteries and chapel in the lower Rio Grande Valley, which stand to be destroyed in the proposed Wall’s path.
“From lawmakers, we need action. Talk is cheap,” attorney Garcia said. “We need them to vote against any bill that carries wall money.”
Hein, owner of the 580-acre Rancho Santo Niño which fronts the Rio Grande in southern Webb County, said it was urgent for him to let lawmakers know “that the national emergency is a lie.”
“The ranch has been in our family for nearly a century,” said Hein, who breeds and sells Appaloosas. “I go out there alone about 4 times a week, and take my 13-year-old twin daughters once a week. I would never put my children in danger. In all of the times that we’ve gone, we’ve never been afraid or had a bad experience.”
Hein said that if the Wall is built through his property, it would block and deprive wildlife and domestic animals access to water.
“The makeup of the ranch would totally change,” he said. “It would kill my business and destroy the stunning vistas that we have of the river.”
Carrillo, instructor and coach/director for the award-winning UIL Film program at LBJ HS, captured as much footage of the visit as possible.
“When I found out that RGISC was standing up to protect our river against the Trump administration, our team decided to use this opportunity to help Laredo tell it’s story,” Carrillo said.
“We’ve co-existed with our sister-city for centuries,” he said. “Our city has its own natural land barrier, one that we must protect at all costs; the Rio Grande. We must not allow for the federal government to waive our laws and rights as citizens. Our voices must be heard.”
Nasvytis Torres of Earthjustice agreed. “The louder we speak up, with a large diverse group of voices, the harder it is for our communities to be divided, pitted against each other, or used as bargaining chips in negotiations.”
RGISC and other members of the “Where’s the National Emergency” coalition will organize a series of events over the coming months to build the movement in Laredo with allies from across Texas and the country.
“Our bicultural heritage and our future growth are shaped by our relationship with the Rio Grande,” Cigarroa said. “If we are asked to throw that away because of an egregious lie about who we are, what will we tell our children and grandchildren? How do we explain our failure to protect their future?”
We need to get rid of Trump. PERIOD!