EDINBURG, Texas – Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez has sent a letter to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn urging Texas’ senior senator do his part in passing immigration reform in Congress.
“While I appreciate all the additional federal and state resources that are coming our way in anticipation of increased immigrant activity, I must say unequivocally that enforcement alone is not enough,” Cortez wrote.
The solution lies with the federal government and Congress, Cortez wrote.
“While the Biden administration should be held accountable, the blame for this mess must be shared with Congress. The latest Washington parlor game has the White House under the current administration and previous ones making policy through executive orders, only to have the political party filing a lawsuit to stop the policy,” Cortez wrote.
“The only long-term solution is immigration reform that is based on enforcement to keep the bad players out coupled with the orderly processing that allows the economy to grow.”
In his letter, Cortez points out that the last major immigration reform came in 1987 under Republican President Reagan and a Democrat controlled Congress.
“The current perception is that Congress does not want to solve this problem because it gives them political ammunition. If that’s true, it must end,” Cortez wrote.
Cortez said economists and demographers constantly point out that higher income countries like the United States are growing older, and the birth rate is dropping.
“The irony is that we’re creating barriers to migration under the name of border security at a time when most economists will tell you that we need migration to sustain and grow our economy,” Cortez wrote.
“By keeping migrants out we are hurting our own economic interest. There is a labor shortage in this country and many of the unfilled jobs could be filled by unskilled workers – the very type of worker that these migrants represent.”
Cortez added: “On behalf of the residents of Hidalgo County, I ask that you exercise the power and wisdom of Congress to forge a bipartisan solution to this immigration problem while encouraging the growth of our economy.”
Here is the Cortez letter:
Letter
The Honorable John Cornyn
United States Senate
517 Hart Senate Office
Washington DC 20510
Dear Senator Cornyn:
As we approach the May 11 end of Title 42, Hidalgo County is reaching out to seek your help. We believe that a manageable situation as it relates to migrants illegally entering our country could to quickly grow untenable without your assistance.
In short, we request that you help pass immigration reform as soon as possible.
As a frontline community witnessing what is happening at the US Mexico border, we see dedicated federal, state and local employees being asked to do the impossible. Only Congress can equip these public servants with the tools necessary to handle the ongoing influx of migrants seeking asylum from countries around the world.
The RGV Sector Chief of Customs and Border Protection, Gloria Chavez, for example, has been wonderful at keeping local jurisdictions informed about immigration developments in our region. Based on that we expect to see larger numbers of migrants seeking asylum once Title 42 goes away. Among the trends she has identified:
- An uptick in migrant activity with many of them coming from Venezuela. The RGV sector has had about 185,000 nationals entering illegally into the United States since October, when the fiscal year began.
- The first two weeks of April saw an average of 1,700 Venezuelan nationals entering illegally. The last two weeks of April saw an uptick of 15,000 Venezuelans.
- The two holding facilities in the RGV sector have a total capacity of 4,000. As of the end of April, we had about 7,500 migrants in these facilities.
- We have encountered over 72 nationalities in the RGV Sector with an uptick of Chinese nationals, Honduras and Mexico.
Based on these reports, I’m routinely in contact with the dagger County Sheriff, J.E. Eddie Guerra to get his assessment of how this may be impacting our residents.
As long as he says that everything is manageable, then I see no reason to declare any emergency. If Sheriff Guerra says he needs help, I will do everything in my power to get him help that he needs.
We must remember that CBP has a long policy of releasing migrants who have applied for asylum within 72 hours with formal notices to appear. Once released from custody with these notices, these migrants are in our country illegally until the case is decided in an immigration court.
Because of the backlog in existing immigration laws, these cases may take months if not years to adjudicate. The majority of those released do not stay in the region. Instead, with the help of nonprofits such as Catholic Charities of the RGV, these migrants are bused or flown to other parts of the country where they have relatives or someone is sponsoring them.
So I fully anticipate that there will be challenges after May 11, but I am confident that we will be able to manage while keeping the public safe. And while I appreciate all the additional federal and state resources that are coming our way in anticipation of increased immigrant activity, I must say unequivocally that enforcement alone is not enough.
I have long compared our border problem to someone whose house has sprung a leak in their plumbing system. What we need from federal authorities is a plumber who can come in and stop the flow of water while fixing the leak. What we’ve been getting instead are more mops to clean up the constant flow of water.
The solution lies with the federal government. And Congress.
And while the Biden administration should be held accountable, the blame for this mess must be shared with Congress. The latest Washington parlor game has the White House under the current administration and previous ones making policy through executive orders, only to have the political party filing a lawsuit to stop the policy.
The only long-term solution is immigration reform that is based on enforcement to keep the bad players out coupled with the orderly processing that allows the economy to grow. The last major reform came in 1987 under President Reagan and a Democrat controlled Congress. The current perception is that Congress does not want to solve this problem because it gives them political ammunition.
If that’s true, it must end.
The irony is that we’re creating barriers to migration under the name of border security at a time when most economists will tell you that we need migration to sustain and grow our economy. By keeping migrants out we are hurting our own economic interest. There is a labor shortage in this country and many of the unfilled jobs could be filled by unskilled workers – the very type of worker that these migrants represent.
Economists and demographers constantly point out that higher income countries like the United States are growing older, and the birth rate is dropping.
The third leg of this stool that ensures economic vitality is immigration. We need immigrants. And if you don’t believe a Democrat, then I suggest you look at the last speech President Reagan delivered before leaving the office in which he says the same thing.
The way current laws are written there are two ways to enter the country: legally via ports of entry or illegally in the vast area between the ports of entry.
If you have a limited ability to enter legally, then you’re driving people to enter this country illegally. That’s when border security becomes a major issue.
We can monitor those entering that legally through our ports of entry. We have a tougher time monitoring those entering illegally. So if we need these people to help service our economy, why are we not setting policy that allows for an orderly immigration process?
On behalf of the residents of Hidalgo County, I ask that you exercise the power and wisdom of Congress to forge a bipartisan solution to this immigration problem while encouraging the growth of our economy.
Sincerely,
Richard F. Cortez
County Judge
Hidalgo County, Texas
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