Congressman Will Hurd of Texas is an increasingly lonely voice in the “build the wall” Republican Party of Donald Trump.
A 41-year-old former undercover CIA officer, Hurd represents one of the
largest congressional districts in America, Texas’ 23rd, a vast expanse of land roughly the size of Georgia that stretches from San Antonio to El Paso.
Hurd’s district includes 820 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, more than any other member of the House of Representatives. But if you’re expecting Hurd, who was narrowly re-elected to a third term last year, to support President Trump’s “big, beautiful wall” and stand with the decision to partially shut down the federal government over the fight, you’ve got it all wrong. Trump’s border crisis is a “myth,” Hurd tells Rolling Stone, and a wall made of cement or steel slats is a “third-century solution to a 21st-century problem.”
“What I always say is building a wall from sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to do border security,” Hurd says.
He is one of the few Republicans to break ranks and vote with Democrats to approve funding to reopen the government. On Wednesday, he announced
that he’d landed a coveted seat on the powerful Appropriations
Committee, bringing the perspective of someone who actually knows the
border to Congress’ main government-funding committee.
Rolling Stone caught up with Hurd in his office on Capitol Hill to discuss the “wall,” what it’s like to represent nearly half of the entire U.S.-Mexico border and his idea for a modern-day Marshall Plan to address the root causes of the social and economic crisis in Latin America that has led to so many immigrants fleeing north and seeking refuge in the U.S. The conversation follows, lightly edited for length and clarity.
The word that we keep hearing from President Trump is that there’s a “crisis” at the border. Is there a crisis at the border?
If there is a crisis, why are the people that are dealing with it not being paid? That’s the first step.
Good question. This is an issue that has transcended multiple administrations. I think $67 billion of drugs coming into our country is a crisis. Now, I also think when you think of a crisis, that means people are afraid to leave their homes, right? El Paso is one of the safest cities in the United States of America. The same can be said about Del Rio, Presidio and Eagle Pass, places I represent.
It’s a problem that should be solved. Yes, last year 400,000 people tried to come into our country illegally, and that’s a decrease in 80 percent from 2000. But 400,000 is still a big number.
When I crisscross my district, the thing I hear the most, people are like, “We need workers.” Whether it’s agriculture or artificial intelligence, we need workers. Why aren’t we also talking about streamlining this immigration process so that we get people here legally who are going to contribute to our economy? It’s a problem that needs to be solved. I think it requires us to be cool, level-headed and talk about those solutions.
Read more at: Republican Congressman: Trump’s Border Crisis Is a ‘Myth’
Hurd’s district includes 820 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, more than any other member of the House of Representatives. But if you’re expecting Hurd, who was narrowly re-elected to a third term last year, to support President Trump’s “big, beautiful wall” and stand with the decision to partially shut down the federal government over the fight, you’ve got it all wrong. Trump’s border crisis is a “myth,” Hurd tells Rolling Stone, and a wall made of cement or steel slats is a “third-century solution to a 21st-century problem.”
“What I always say is building a wall from sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to do border security,” Hurd says.
Rolling Stone caught up with Hurd in his office on Capitol Hill to discuss the “wall,” what it’s like to represent nearly half of the entire U.S.-Mexico border and his idea for a modern-day Marshall Plan to address the root causes of the social and economic crisis in Latin America that has led to so many immigrants fleeing north and seeking refuge in the U.S. The conversation follows, lightly edited for length and clarity.
The word that we keep hearing from President Trump is that there’s a “crisis” at the border. Is there a crisis at the border?
If there is a crisis, why are the people that are dealing with it not being paid? That’s the first step.
Good question. This is an issue that has transcended multiple administrations. I think $67 billion of drugs coming into our country is a crisis. Now, I also think when you think of a crisis, that means people are afraid to leave their homes, right? El Paso is one of the safest cities in the United States of America. The same can be said about Del Rio, Presidio and Eagle Pass, places I represent.
It’s a problem that should be solved. Yes, last year 400,000 people tried to come into our country illegally, and that’s a decrease in 80 percent from 2000. But 400,000 is still a big number.
When I crisscross my district, the thing I hear the most, people are like, “We need workers.” Whether it’s agriculture or artificial intelligence, we need workers. Why aren’t we also talking about streamlining this immigration process so that we get people here legally who are going to contribute to our economy? It’s a problem that needs to be solved. I think it requires us to be cool, level-headed and talk about those solutions.
Read more at: Republican Congressman: Trump’s Border Crisis Is a ‘Myth’
No comments:
Post a Comment