‘Amnesty’ Republican Encounters Resistance at the Border
Rep. Will Hurd,a Texas Republican whose sprawling district spans a third of the U.S.-Mexicoborder, joined Democrats this week in voting to grantamnesty to more than 2 million illegal aliens.It wasn’t the first time.
Since2017, Hurd has repeatedly cosponsored amnesty legislation. He also has voted toincrease H-2B visas for unskilled foreign workers and supports otherimported-labor initiatives.
Onthe “nay” side, Hurd voted against the “SecuringAmerica’s Future Act of 2018,” to require that all federal, stateand local agencies comply with the provisions of the U.S. Immigration andNationality Act. He voted toblock President Donald Trump’s emergency order for more wall funding, and even brandedthe border crisis a “myth.”
Whileposing for selfies with adoring recipients of DACA (Deferred Action for ChildhoodArrivals), the maverickcongressman basks in glowing reviewsfrom liberal media outlets. A portrait of him sitting in the middle of adeserted South Texas road graces the current cover of Texas Monthly magazine.
Inthe run-up to his 2018 re-election campaign, Hurd tacked briefly to theenforcement side when he voted to withhold funds from sanctuary cities. But theRepublican’s renewed support for amnesty this week brought him back to morefamiliar territory, where his voting record virtually mirrors that of formerDemocratic congressman and current presidential aspirant Beto O’Rourke nextdoor.
Thanksto – or in spite of – his quixotic positioning on immigration, Hurd won re-election in the heavily Hispanic 23rd Congressional District. His razor-thin victory (926 votes, a 0.5percent margin) over first-time candidate Gina Ortiz Joneswas far from a mandate, however.
Hurd’s glib reference to the border crisis as a “myth” has stoked conservative anger, without necessarily earning him any Democrat votes. That potentially leaves him in an electoral no man’s land. “People who say the border crisis is a ‘myth’ don’t live anywhere near it,” observed Alma Arredondo-Lynch, one of Hurd’s declared GOP challengers for 2020. In fact, a lot of them live in Washington, D.C.