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U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz on Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention said she was proud of being the granddaughter of Mexican farmworkers, using the national platform to tell a familiar Valley story while attacking President Joe Biden over immigration and border policies.
De La Cruz, R-McAllen, took the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to deliver her remarks after former President Donald Trump was nominated earlier this week by the Republican Party and prior to Ohio Sen. JD Vance officially accepting the role as Trump’s vice president.
Her remarks come days after an attempted assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and as growing numbers of Democrats call on Biden to drop out of the race after a rough debate performance with Trump.
“I’m the proud granddaughter of Mexican farmworkers who came here with little more than faith in God,” De La Cruz said. “They never had much money, but they instilled in us strong Texas values. They taught me that through hard work, anything is possible in America.”
Then, De La Cruz said, she proved it by putting herself through school and building a successful small business.
“It wasn’t easy, but I’m living proof that the American Dream — El Sueño Americano — can become a reality,” she said. “Only in America can a little girl from South Texas go from watching her abuelo pick watermelons to serving in the People’s House.”
She then said she believes the American Dream is slipping away, blaming Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who she says is making it hard for people to get ahead.
De La Cruz says their policies have limited home ownership and that wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. She goes on to claim “illegal immigrants” in the country receive benefits from the Biden administration and that Medicare Advantage has been cut.
“They say their immigration policies are compassionate, but there is nothing compassionate about open borders,” De La Cruz said. “They threaten our national security and flood our country with deadly drugs, killing our precious children. Biden and Harris don’t care about immigrants — they just use them for political gain.”
De La Cruz then urges the reelection of Trump, telling convention attendees that he would “end the border crisis.”
“We can restore peace and prosperity, create an amazing future with endless possibilities, and build the most vital institution of all: the American family,” she said.
Michelle Vallejo, a Democrat challenging De La Cruz in the November election, said her opponent used her convention speech “as an attempt to distract South Texas from her disastrous agenda.”
“Monica will not tell Texans about her support of Texas’ extreme abortion ban that has put women’s lives at risk and forced women to leave the state to get urgent medical care,” Vallejo said in a statement prior to De La Cruz’s remarks. “Monica will not own up to her extremist agenda to restrict access to birth control and access to fertility treatments like IVF.”
Vallejo also said De La Cruz would fail to mention plans to raise costs and taxes for the middle classes “while giving a massive tax cut to the ultra wealthy” and making “drugs more expensive for working families.”
She then claims De La Cruz wants to privatize Medicare, threatening healthcare coverage for millions. Vallejo also said De La Cruz supports raising the retirement age for Social Security.
“And when a bipartisan deal was on the table to send billions to secure the border and provide relief to South Texas communities, Monica turned her back on our Border Patrol agents, local officials, and community leaders who supported the compromise, putting politics ahead of helping our people, again,” Vallejo said.
She then accused De La Cruz of putting the Republican Party ahead of what Vallejo says is best for South Texas.
“In Congress, I will not be afraid to stand up to Democrats or Republicans if it helps Texans,” Vallejo said. “I’m ready to get to work on the biggest issues facing our community.”
