In the wake of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement to send an additional surge of state law enforcement and national guardsmen to the Rio Grande Valley, the No Border Wall Coalition of Laredo, a group situated directly on the U.S.-Mexico border, is challenging the Governor’s push.
“As Texans who live on the border, we know that the real crisis here in Texas is Abbott’s failure of leadership. The governor is trotting out a worn-out story about being afraid of immigrants to distract us from his own colossal failures,” said Tannya Benavides, an organizer with the coalition.
“Under Abbott’s watch as governor of Texas, the U.S. border region endured some of the highest levels of COVID-19 related deaths in the country. On top of that, we were left totally unprepared for the historic winter storm, in which 70 Texans died and millions of others suffered as a result of government mismanagement. Abbott has overseen one disaster after another,” added Juan Ruiz, a lifelong resident of Laredo.
“If he wants to keep Texans safe, the Governor should have pushed the state to invest in a working power grid, not a wall,” added Norma Herrera of the RGV Equal Voice Network. “Now he is doubling down on that mistake. Instead of offering solutions, all we get is fear mongering. We need real leadership that is attuned to the true needs of Texans and can offer a transformative vision that ensures our communities can move beyond crises and actually thrive.”
Contrary to the narrative put forth by the Governor, the border continues to rank as one of the safest regions of the United States, according to annual FBI statistics.
“We live here. We know there is no emergency on the border,” Tricia Cortez, a co-founder of the Coalition. “If people want to line up at the border to apply for asylum, that is exactly what U.S. law requires and permits them to do. We need lawyers and proper infrastructure at our ports of entry to accommodate that, not troops.”
Real threats to our nation’s security aren’t at the border. They continue to be domestic violent extremists, climate change, and white supremacists, according to reports by the FBI, Pentagon, and Homeland Security.
The #NoBorderWall Laredo Coalition is a network of residents, elected officials, & organizations who oppose the border wall. Website: facebook.com/NoBorderWallCoalition | Insta: @noborderwall_ltx
God Bless Texas Governor Abbott and Texas Attorney General Paxton, warriors against the Mexican drug cartels, drug smugglers, illegal aliens smugglers, and human traffickers. They get it and know what needs to be done.