House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will visit the Rio Grande Valley this weekend, according to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.
Pelosi, a Democrat from California, will take part in an hour-long immigration roundtable Saturday at La Union Del Pueblo Entero in San Juan, according to Gonzalez.
The former House speaker is also scheduled to tour the Humanitarian Respite Center at Sacred Heart in McAllen.
“It is critical for Leader Pelosi to hear firsthand about the impact of recent Trump Executive Orders directing mass deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in South Texas and across the country,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
“As the federal representative for the area, I am committed to bringing senators and representatives from other parts of the country so they can meet border residents and community leaders and better understand the issues facing the region. These visits also help garner the positive attention South Texas deserves on trade, commerce and the U.S.-Mexico friendship,” he said.
“President Trump’s immigration executive orders have brought about confusion and fear. His border wall proposal is unwise, immoral and very costly,” Leader Pelosi said in a statement.
“My visit to the Texas border will allow me to hear directly from faith-based groups, immigrant families, community organizations and businesses negatively impacted by the Trump Administration’s reckless and ineffective policies. I look forward to gaining more insight,” she said.
Pelosi’s visit comes just two weeks after a slew of mostly Republican members of Congress, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, visited the Valley on their own fact-finding tour.
Her visit also comes as news reports that Democrats in the Senate are mobilizing to oppose the funding for construction of a wall between the United States and Mexico.
Unlike other initiatives proposed by President Donald Trump, funding for the wall would require at least 60 senate votes under the rules of that chamber.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, told the Axios news site that this is the Democrats’ best hope of defeating one of Trump’s major campaign promises.
It was not immediately known if any other members of Congress might be accompanying Pelosi, who has visited the area as House Speaker in 2007.
