I represent McAllen. Texas. which has been the epicenter for this humanitarian crisis. For years. my Republican colleagues have been ignoring the problems caused by their inaction on immigration reform. They have cut funding for immigration judges. so that people wait years to have their cases heard. They have cut funding to help the countries of Central America deal with the internal problems causing their children to flee. The Republican solution has always been more walls and fences and more soldiers to militarize the border. I live on that border of Texas and Mexico. and I know that their enforcementonly approach is not working because it doesnt address the root cause of immigration. It has been economically devastating to border communities who vainly try to persuade companies to move their plants and factories to our region to create jobs and bring us out of poverty that is the highest in the Nation. Our veterans suffer because the VA cant get doctors to move to the border. All these companies and doctors hear is that the border is a war zone flooded with dangerous immigrants. That is not the border I know. My border home is a vibrant. educated. fastgrowing. culturally diverse. welcoming region.
Identified stereotypes
The border is portrayed as a war zone flooded with dangerous immigrants.