San Antonio congressman, others warn about politicians’ anti-immigrant hate speech

Ahead of Thursday’s four-year anniversary of the racially motivated mass shooting that killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, 162 civil-rights organizations are demanding that members of Congress stop using anti-immigrant hate speech.

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, joined leaders of those groups to decry the use of “invasion” rhetoric thrown around by members of Congress and by Gov. Greg Abbott to describe border crossings. By invoking that terminology, advocates argue, politicians are mainstreaming white supremacists’ so-called “great replacement” theory — a debunked claim that shadowy forces are permitting an invasion of immigrants in a bid to suppress white Americans.

In a letter sent to congressional leaders of both parties, the groups warned that politicians’ continued comparison of people crossing the border to an invaders mirrors the claims of the El Paso shooter and perpetuates right-wing extremists’ false claims of a “white genocide.” The El Paso shooter drove hundreds of miles from his home in North Texas to target Latinos in what he claimed in an online manifesto was an effort to push back an “invasion of Texas.”

“The rhetoric we’re seeing in … Congress points to a new wave of xenophobic politicians who want to take our country in a dangerous direction,” Castro said during a press call to discuss the letter. “Since the beginning of the year, members of Congress have dehumanized and demonized migrants as invaders and talked about an invasion at the southern border 90 times in their official capacity. When our political leaders normalize and encourage this kind of rhetoric, they embolden violent people to put their hate into action, as we saw in El Paso.”

According to the letter:

• 34 Members of Congress have invoked “invasion” rhetoric in their official capacity this year.
  
• The Republican House Majority has invited 15 witnesses to testify before Congress who previously used “invasion” or “replacement” rhetoric or trafficked in similar conspiracies.
  
• Seven pieces of legislation introduced by Republicans in this 118th Congress employ the “invasion” conspiracy theory.

A link in the letter connects to an online accounting of times members of Congress used invasion rhetoric during hearings, in legislation or in press releases and newsletters. Along with divisive figures including U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, the list includes U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz along with U.S. Reps. Chip Roy, Troy Nehls, Lance Gooden, Wesley Hunt, Nathaniel Moran, Jodey Arrington and Brian Babin — all of Texas.

Among others, the coalition of groups that signed the letter includes Anti-Defamation League, America’s Voice, the Hispanic Federation, the Human Rights Campaign and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

During the call, Castro also called out Abbott, a Republican, for his $4.4 billion border crackdown dubbed Operation Lone Star. The Department of Justice recently sued Texas over the governor’s deployment of buoys and razor wire in the Rio Grande River, arguing the installation is unlawful and raises humanitarian concerns.

Days prior, Hearst Newspapers reported that Texas state troopers had been ordered to push migrants back into the Rio Grande River and deny them access to water despite dangerous summer heat — a claim denied by the governor’s office.

“White supremacy is how you end up with a governor placing razor wire and refusing to offer water to migrants at the Texas-Mexico border,” Castro said on the call.

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This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 8, 2023.