U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales also indicates an openness to shutting down some federal agencies.
SAN ANTONIO — President Donald Trump has been in office for three weeks now, and the Republican has moved fast to reshape immigration policy, from arresting and removing undocumented immigrants to ending humanitarian parole to suspending a resettlement program for thousands of refugees, many already approved to relocate.
Congressman Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, has already seen some of these changes firsthand.
The Republican represents two-thirds of the Texas-Mexico border in the 23rd District of Texas, covering more than 800 miles of the southern border, and he recently visited El Paso for updates on deportations and other border security efforts taking place in the region.
“What I’m seeing is everyone is excited. They’re excited for a new day. They’re excited for the change. They’re also anxious, though,” the Congressman told us on Inside Texas Politics. “Anytime you’re going to be surging thousands of troops to the border, people have questions. Where are they going to be housed? How are they going to interact with other agencies? Who has what authorities? Who’s going to play what roles?”
During the first week of Trump’s Presidency, the Defense Department ordered 1,600 active-duty troops to the border. It is expected that at least 1,000 more will soon join them.
Congressman Gonzales thinks the effort is off to a “very positive” start.
The Republican spent two decades in the Navy, where he rose to Master Chief Petty Officer and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
We asked him if he would support military action in the Panama Canal, Greenland or even Gaza, areas of the world President Trump has threatened to acquire or take control of.
While he didn’t directly answer that question, he said the president is highlighting, in his own way, the importance of some of these strategic locations across the globe.
“President Trump has an interesting way of negotiating. He likes to negotiate in public. I appreciate that. I mean he essentially puts everyone on notice and says these are the things that are important to me,” the Republican responded.
As far as the president’s attempt to shut down many federal agencies, Gonzales said Congress should be asking what the public is getting out of any department.
Trump’s latest target is the Department of Education, and he recently said he wants his education secretary to “put herself out of a job.”
“But once again, this is where everybody should come before the carpet, that carpet being Congress, and say ‘Hey, what do you do here? What do we get for our taxpayer dollars?’ And if the answer is nothing, then that certainly needs to go away,” Gonzales said.
