I have lived in the Rio Grande Valley my entire life. I am proud of where I come from, and I am thankful to have been raised by a community that values compassion and respect. Because we are so close to the border, it is my hope that we can extend that same compassion and respect to those who are seeking asylum. The nation will look to us when deciding how to go about implementing comprehensive immigration reform. They will look at what we do, how we feel, and the way we treat those waiting to come into our community.
The country is screaming about the “border crisis.” This talk is in the news, in legislation and soon will be in our history books. While politics must be involved in the discussion surrounding immigration reform, we must shout back about the humanitarian issues that are driving people to come to this country in dangerous ways. We must use the compassion and respect that is deeply rooted in our community to care for the vulnerable. There is no acceptable situation in which we may stop advocating for people to be treated like people.
RGV family, we have the gift of proximity. There are many who do not understand because they are unable to see what we see. We must accept the responsibility of shedding light on a topic that has become heavily politicized. We are able to witness firsthand the desperation of young women who desire freedom so much they are willing to risk their life, and potentially the life of their children, to come to a country that may take up to 15 years to accept them. Desperation and humanitarian issues are urgent; they do not have 15 years to patiently wait to potentially be accepted into this country. I would invite you to return humanity back to these individuals who have been continually used for political propaganda.
The Immigration Coalition and RGV Catholic Charities are two border-based non-profits I would encourage you to get involved with. It is understandable to fear rocking the political waves many are hyper-aware of, but let me assure you that there is nothing political about feeding and clothing children at the border who are eager to experience the love of God.
Alyssa Villarreal
Mission
Assertions
addressed
Republicans are blaming Democrats complaining about crime but refuse to support gun safety laws.
Republicans are still supporting an ex-president who initiated a coup to overthrow the government of the United States.
More than half of Republicans across the country running are denying that the 2020 election was legal. They don’t believe in our democratic election process. These Republicans are destroying a fundamental part of our democracy.
Local election of Republican Democrats like Mayra Flores will make it harder to save our democracy from these radical MAGA Republicans in D.C. You can’t support a party that supports an insurrection against our government and still consider yourself a patriot.
Republicans refuse to support gun safety legislation. Mayra Flores voted against the latest proposal for protecting our children from mass shootings.
In response to Imelda Coronado’s letter of Oct. 18, she calls Democrats Nazis, fascists and communists. The fact is that Republicans want to tell you what books to read, what meds you can take, what words you can say, what history you can learn, what gender you are and whom you can love. Also, Republicans have implemented restrictive voting laws in many states including Texas. Republicans are suppressing many of our freedoms step by step. These are all real, provable fascist moves by Republicans.
In response to Jack Ayoub’s letter of Oct. 19, he stretches the truth about Beto O’Rourke. Beto does not support defunding the police; this Republican talking point has been spread over and over where the uninformed believe it. It is a lie.
After the children and teachers in Uvalde were murdered by an AR-15 military-style weapon, Beto is calling to raise the age to buy one of these people-killing machines from 18 to 21. Greg Abbott is against this life-saving idea. Instead, right after the killing of those children he went to a fundraising event by the NRA. Beto is against all violence, period. MAGA Republicans still support the violence against our government on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mr. Ayoub states that Beto supports abortions; that’s another misleading falsehood. Beto supports a woman’s right to make this very personal decision, especially when the life of the mother and/or the fetus is in danger. Republicans want children victims of rape and incest to deliver a child. How cruel is that?
Pandering to Tejanos by using Juan Seguin’s name does not work when his statements are misleading at best.
Beto Conde
Rancho Viejo
Preference
explained
Recently, a friend asked how I could not support the Republican ticket in Texas since I was a military retiree. I told my friend that I still stand and salute our flag during all functions where our flag is being presented. However, as a military retiree who has seen my fellow military brothers and sisters pay the ultimate price for our country, I cannot support a political party’s platform that propagates the “Big Lie” and calls other citizens of Texas an abomination to society. The one thing I learned in the military is go give dignity and respect to others.
As Adm. William McRaven stated, “If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.” Today versus in the ’70s, our political differences were mainly based on the programs, policies and proposals of the Democrats and Republicans.
Our parents are remembered as part of the “Greatest Generation.” They sacrificed and rolled up their sleeves to fight for our country to ensure our democracy. I hope my generation will be remembered as the generation that “asked what we could do for our country.”
There comes a time when you need to put the growth of your financial portfolio behind your values, spiritually, and relationships to all during the darkest moments in our country. Therefore, if you vote in the 2002-2024 election for any Republican in Texas, you will be supporting the Texas GOP platform of exclusion.
Joe Hinojosa
Brownsville
Hecklers
criticized
A candidate for governor comes to campaign in McAllen at the Lark Center, and people come in droves to denigrate, talk down and even drown out his speech? At what point did we become children?
It’s one thing to be passionate about the issues that affect our daily lives. It’s one thing to be angry at the current state of things, but to show disrespect and just utter ignorance is appalling and embarrassing.
I despise those who shouted at Beto. I’m not a fan of his by any measure, but I would never show the disrespect and ignorance those people showed him last month. This man has done more, whether you like it or not, than most people in the Valley who barely have a high school diploma and work at Stripes.
Compared to Beto, who’s the loser? And you’re hurling the same insult back at him?
I advise those who shouted him down at the LarkCommunity Center to take a long hard look in the mirror, because that’s who you’ve become. Just a no-good, poorly educated, wage-working drone who follows the flock like sheep.
Phil Garcia
McAllen
