SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The South Texas Business Partnership held its South Texas Summit on June 9 at the Embassy Suites-Brooks in San Antonio.
One of the panels featured four South Texas mayors: Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, John Cowen, Jr., of Brownsville, Norma Sepulveda of Harlingen, and McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos. The latter two chose to discuss the recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations in the Rio Grande Valley.
According to FoxRGV, there has been confirmation of over 50 arrested undocumented immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley since June 2. In addition to those arrested, thousands more have chosen not to go to work, leaving employers struggling to fulfill their work projects.
“We are having issues in what is being presented on the national level in regard to immigration,” Sepulveda said. “It is trickling down to our communities in South Texas and it is a hard topic to talk about but it is really important.”
Sepulveda said as she was waiting to appear on the panel a developer texted her to ask that she bring up the subject of immigration.
The deportations have developed in local businesses in the Rio Grande Valley, such as El Control Mexican Restaurant in Harlingen, which was raided on Monday. Taqueria El Mante in San Benito and Harlingen was also raided over the weekend.
During the South Texas Summit, Villalobos said that being a Republican, he was likely in the minority on the panel. Yet he said he would be urging representatives and senators to stop the ICE raids.
“Several places were raided…it is like a drag net, it is going to affect us all,” Villalobos said. “They are stopping developments, they are stopping building constructions, economic developments. There are some people that are loving it (the ICE raids) but wait 'till the prices start going up. I am blessed that I can afford a little higher prices…a lot of people that are for it (the ICE raids) may not be so (fortunate). That is something that is very important and I am gonna start ruffling feathers.”
Sepulveda said that as an immigration attorney she knew what to expect from the Trump administration's immigration policies. She asked members in opposing political parties to join together to resolve the issue at hand.
“It is not a political issue…it is not about right or left,” Sepulveda said. “It is about what is best for our communities because that is what we are here for, to represent the voices of our communities.”
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of the comments Mayors Villalobos and Sepulveda made about the ICE raids:
Editor's Note: Rio Grande Guardian reporter Steve Taylor assisted with this news story from San Antonio.
