Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick puts his taste in men's wear on display during a speech in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"This is the kind of hateful, dangerous rhetoric that inspired the 2019 massacre in El Paso — where a madman drove 10 hours and murdered 23 people, including American citizens, to stop what he called the Hispanic 'invasion' of Texas," Castro said in an emailed statement. "Dan Patrick needs to stop spreading hate before more people are killed."
Castro has been among most vocal congressional critics of Texas Republicans' dehumanizing rhetoric about immigration, including their invocation of the "Great Replacement" theory, a racist claim that shadowy powers want migrants to cross the border so they can vote for progressive politicians and ruin the U.S. way of life.
Castro, a former head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has warned GOP lawmakers' "invasion" hyperbole about border crossings may inspire violence and vigilantism.
Patrick — a Republican who's frequently echoed former President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant sentiments — issued his latest screed March 24 on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures program.
"So, do we want wild men between 20 to 40 [years old], who we don't know anything about their background, coming from all over the world, barging, charging, stampeding into our country?" Patrick said to Fox host Maria Bartiromo.
Castro wasn't alone in taking offense. Patrick's description of migrants drew quick rebukes on social media, where critics blasted its fear mongering and racist.
"Peak 3rd Reich stuff again," @SirusDrakeCGBI commented after freelance journalist Aaron Rupar posted a clip of Patrick's interview on X, the platform formerly called Twitter.
Patrick was on the show to discuss Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's continuing standoff with the Biden Administration over immigration and the state's so-called "show me your papers law," Senate Bill 4. Civil rights groups are challenging the controversial legislation in federal court, arguing it's unconstitutional and would lead to rampant racial racial profiling.Peak 3rd Reich stuff again.
— Atogrim von Draken (@SiriusDrakeCGBI) March 24, 2024
SB 4, temporarily blocked by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals while the case plays out, would allow state and local authorities to arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country without documentation. Additionally, the law would empower Texas state judges to deport those found guilty — a process usually reserved for federal judges.
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