Senator José Rodríguez responded to Attorney General Greg Abbott’s remarks about border communities and his policy proposal to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on “border security.” Abbott, a candidate for Governor, compared border communities to Third-World countries when he unveiled the proposal while speaking in Dallas this week.
"Attorney General Abbott should visit with Texas border school superintendents, university presidents, health providers, small businesses, and grassroots organizations who work day in and day out to improve our education, health care and economy," Senator Rodríguez said. "With an overall low crime rate on the border and a great business environment, we would hope the focus would be on the real issues pertinent to our future – education, health care and community-based economic development.
"The border is as secure as it ever has been, whether the metric is crime rates, undocumented crossings or federal 'boots on the ground,' technology and prosecutions. Statements to the otherwise from high-ranking state officials not only fly in the face of the facts, they harm our communities' economic development efforts, a point consistently made by our local business and civic leaders. Apparently, their concerns have not been heard, although AG Abbott certainly comes to El Paso often enough to raise money.
"The bottom line is this: Demeaning Texans while promoting a fiscally irresponsible and unnecessary proposal that harms our communities is an unworthy distraction from the real issues. We deserve much better.”