Team,
Trump is ending his presidency the same way he began his campaign: By inciting hate and fear of immigrants and asylum seekers.
Today, Trump is in my home state visiting the border to claim “mission accomplished” on his pathetic border wall. But he’s not the only one.
I’m traveling to the Rio Grande Valley today to send the message that we won’t be afraid of Donald Trump and his hateful immigration record. We’re going to stand with immigrants and asylum seekers to say he doesn’t represent us, he doesn’t represent Texas, and he’s a dangerous president who must be removed.
The attack on the Capitol was the inevitable consequence of a party and president that has stoked division, racism, and violence for years. And if we don’t hold the people who fueled it accountable, we risk more violence.
In 2019, I warned of how Trump’s racist and xenophobic rhetoric could incite violence. And, we saw it firsthand in El Paso where a man shot 23 people, claiming to be inspired by Trump’s words. It was the deadliest attack on the Latino community in modern history.
Now, the president is on his way to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley to continue his hateful message.
We can’t afford to let Trump and his allies continue to divide us. We must confront his racism and white nationalism directly. Which is why I’m showing up in the Rio Grande Valley today to speak out against his visit.
In solidarity,
Julián Castro