AUSTIN, Texas — Friday, Republican challenger for the Texas governor’s race Don Huffines released , and Huffines’ stance could not be uglier or more dangerous. In the ad, Huffines references an “illegal invasion of Texas” — the exact same racist, hateful, anti-immigrant rhetoric behind the 2019 El Paso massacre, where 23 El Pasoans were killed and dozens more were injured in the worst attack on Latinos in U.S. history.
AUSTIN, Texas — Friday, Republican challenger for the Texas governor’s race Don Huffines released , and Huffines’ stance could not be uglier or more dangerous. In the ad, Huffines references an “illegal invasion of Texas” — the exact same racist, hateful, anti-immigrant rhetoric behind the 2019 El Paso massacre, where 23 El Pasoans were killed and dozens more were injured in the worst attack on Latinos in U.S. history.
Infuriatingly, in today’s radical Texas Republican Party, Huffines is simply saying the quiet part out loud. While pointing the finger at President Biden, Gov. Greg Abbott is leading a campaign of racism and terror against migrants through his so-called Operation Lonestar. Reports abound of migrants being held in local jails without formal charges or access to counsel for weeks — in violation of their right to legal representation, and in yet another example of Abbott’s overreach in using state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement. Earlier this week, the Texas Tribune reported that charges were dropped against 11 migrants after, under Greg Abbott’s initiative, they were marched for 20 minutes to a fenced ranch by law enforcement, then arrested for trespassing . Meanwhile, Abbott’s policies are making life harder for border residents, too — with Operation Lonestar resources reportedly being used to increase minor traffic citations by as much as 1000% in the Rio Grande Valley .
As Abbott continues with his attacks on immigrants, will he stop short of falling in line with Huffines’ open hatred and condemn this dangerous, racist rhetoric? Or will he compete with Huffines in spouting dangerous racist propaganda? That’s the question every reporter should be asking Abbott.
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement:
“Two years after 23 people were gunned down in an El Paso Walmart, a Republican candidate for governor is using the exact same racist rhetoric that caused the El Paso massacre. This is an outrage. For four years under Donald Trump, Black and Brown Texans endured daily terrorization and higher rates of hate crimes because of our disgraced former president’s rhetoric — and now, Don Huffines is bringing that dangerous rhetoric back to life.
“This is no surprise from today’s Texas GOP, because for months now, Texas Republicans have been in a race to the right in order to scoop up extremist primary voters. Huffines, Abbott, and too many others are prioritizing their political careers at the expense of the safety of millions of Texans. We’ve already seen what this can cost. Abbott should immediately condemn Huffines’ dangerous, hateful words. We can’t let this go any further.”
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