Texas – In July, the Hearst Newspapers published an exclusive story detailing an insider look: Texas troopers told to push children into the Rio Grande, and deny water to migrants. This news comes at a time when Texas is navigating the impact of additional attacks from Governor Abbott against the freedom to move, live, and thrive. United We Dream, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and Sunrise Movement are coming together to call Texas elected officials to impeach Governor Abbott for his misuse of funds to attack Texans and migrants.
Juan Jose Martinez-Guevera, Texas Advocacy Manager of United We Dream, said:
“Governor Abbott’s cruel and senseless installation of razor wires and a wall of buoys along the Rio Grande, directives to troopers to push migrants back into the waterways they cross, and orders to deny water to migrants traveling in extreme heat must be stopped by our other Texan leaders. Enough is enough! We need Texan elected officials to step up and impeach Governor Abbott for his misuse of taxpayer dollars that feed into the inhumane treatment of Texans and immigrants alike. Governor Abbott has not shared the values and beliefs of Texans across the state. He hides behind lies about immigrant communities and communities of color, in an attempt to divide us. He has repeatedly neglected Texans through the Covid-19 pandemic, through winter freezes and heat waves, through the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and more.
Time and time again we have rung the alarm on the harm posed and ultimately inflicted on Texans across the board by the anti-immigrant agenda led by Governor Abbott. Now it’s clear that more needs to be done and we need our other Texas elected officials to come together and impeach Governor Abbott.”
Carolina Canizales, Senior Texas Strategist, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said:
“Gov. Abbott’s cruel obsession to heap extreme misery on migrants has taken on draconian measures now being felt by residents at border towns. He has ignored our state’s many needs—shoring up our infrastructure, improving our electricity needs, making our public schools better, creating affordable jobs. His actions are not those of a leader, they are actions of a man filled with hatred toward a group of people seeking to escape extreme poverty and violence to make better lives for themselves and their families. Abbott’s cruelty has no bounds and if left unchecked he will no doubt unleash fresh horror that will reverberate across our state. Texans deserve better. We join in the call for Gov. Abbott’s resignation.”