Texas Republicans chastise Mexican official’s 'audacious' border security claims

De la Rosa, president of the Mexican Senate’s Committee on Northern Border Affairs, sent a letter to U.S. state lawmakers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas on July 13.  

In it, he condemned “recent killings and deaths of migrants” at the U.S.-Mexico border without any reference, saying they weren’t “an acceptable cost of migration policy” but a “preventable failure that our two nations have … the shared responsibility to address.”  

De la Rosa also extended an invitation “for structured, bipartisan collaboration between our two legislative bodies in defense of the life and dignity of every person who crosses this region, regardless of nationality or migratory status.” 

He also claimed “the corridor between Mexico and the United States” is the deadliest land migration route in the world where thousands of deaths and disappearances have occurred and criticized those dying while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. “The dignity and life of every migrant mist take precedence over any enforcement measure,” he said. 

The letter was addressed to the Republican Party, state legislatures of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California and their congressional delegations.  

In response, Texas Rep. Andy Hopper, R-Decatur, replied in a three-page letter, questioning the timing, pointing out “selective omissions” and correcting terminology. The lawmakers state the “migrants” referred to in the letter are “illegal aliens who knowingly violate the laws of both the United States and the state of Texas.”  

“Every sovereign nation has both the right and the obligation to determine who may enter its territory. Enforcing those laws is neither immoral nor incompatible with human dignity. It is the foundation of national sovereignty,” they argue.  

Asserting that “migrant rights” must take precedence over border security “fundamentally misunderstands the duty of elected officials in Texas,” they add. 

“Our first obligation is to protect the lives, liberties, property, and constitutional rights of the citizens we were elected to serve. The dignity and security of Texans will always come before the demands of those who choose to violate our laws. Texas owes no apology for defending its border.”

The lawmakers said they “reject any suggestion” from Mexican authorities that “Texas should receive lectures on border security from a government that has allowed powerful criminal cartels to dominate vast regions of its territory. These organizations operate sophisticated human smuggling, sex trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and narcotics enterprises that have fueled one of the greatest humanitarian and public safety crises in modern history. Abandoning meaningful border enforcement would not save lives. It would guarantee that the cartels acquire more victims, more profits, and more power.” 

They also argued if Mexican officials were serious about human rights, they would secure Mexico’s borders, eliminate the cartel infrastructure and criminal organizations operating with impunity in Mexico and partner with U.S. authorities to disrupt transnational crime. 

“It was important that we respond directly to this letter because Texas will not allow foreign governments to insert themselves into our elections or lecture us on border security,” Hopper told The Center Square. “The audacity of a Mexican senator demanding that we prioritize the ‘dignity’ of people who violate our laws – after decades of his government’s complicity with cartels that have fueled human trafficking, fentanyl deaths, and chaos on both sides of the border – is difficult to overstate.”

Hopper represents Wise County, whose officials were among the first to declare an invasion, The Center Square reported. As the border crisis worsened during the Biden administration, 55 counties declared an invasion and 60 issued disaster declarations. These Texas counties were the first and only ones to declare an invasion, changing the national conversation, The Center Square exclusively reported. The declarations remain in effect. 

After Wise County officials led on the invasion declaration effort, Hopper said, “it is fitting that House District 64 leads the way in holding Mexico accountable for the costs Texas taxpayers have borne in public safety, education, healthcare, and law enforcement due to illegal immigration. We owe no apology for defending our border and putting Texans first.” 

Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, is ongoing, now in its fifth year. During the Biden administration, OLS costs to Texas taxpayers topped $11 billion, which are being reimbursed by Congress.  

Since Abbott launched OLS in March 2021, more than 540,000 people have been apprehended by state and local law enforcement, more than 157,000 illegal entries deterred and more than 870 million lethal doses of fentanyl have been seized. That’s after a record 5 million people were reported illegally entering Texas during the Biden administration, including those who evaded capture known as gotaways, The Center Square exclusively reported.