(The Center Square) – The candidates running to represent Texas’ 15th Congressional District differ on the details of border security and immigration policy.
Both candidates say they consider the number of foreign nationals crossing the southern border unsustainable, but their approaches stand in contrast.
More than 12 million people have illegally crossed U.S. borders since fiscal 2021, after President Joe Biden took office. The number includes gotaways, those who illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry, are spotted by surveillance but not apprehended.
In May 2024, Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 241,000 people illegally entering the U.S. at both the southern and northern borders, The Center Square previously reported.
Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz is focused on border security. Her campaign website lists a handful of border policies she supports. De La Cruz would “reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy” that former President Donald Trump put in place. She also is opposed to the “catch and release” policy under the Biden administration, releasing illegal border crossers into the U.S. while they await court dates that are sometimes scheduled years in the future.
The Remain in Mexico policy required migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico while their claims were being processed instead of being released in U.S. communities. President Joe Biden ended the program.
Catch and release is a policy under Biden where border officials apprehend a foreign national and release them into the U.S. during the immigration process. The Biden administration says it’s an attempt to relieve pressure on overcrowded detention centers.
Democratic challenger Michelle Vallejo acknowledges the need for border security but emphasizes the humanitarian side of illegal immigration. Her campaign website states:
“Michelle is committed to securing our border while treating migrants with dignity and upholding their legal right to seek asylum. We must ensure our law enforcement agencies have what they need to end drug and human trafficking and protect their right to bargain for better working conditions.”
In an interview with the Texas Observer, Vallejo said the “chaos” at the border came from “bad policy, bad legislation, and harmful campaigning.” When asked to discuss what she meant by chaos, she said:
“When we have elected officials who come to the border to put on press conferences and then they put it on Fox News with images of people coming across the border or whatever kind of images they want to portray, yes, that is the chaos: the fact that there are different narratives being spoken about when it comes to our home. And an opponent and a candidate like Monica De La Cruz exacerbates that.”
Vallejo also argues that “we need to invest in border infrastructure to ensure all ports of entry can handle the backlog of asylum seekers and refine our enforcement practices to become more conscious of humanitarian needs.”
She supports making the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) plan permanent through federal legislation. DACA is an immigration program deferring deportation for minors whose parents immigrated illegally. It also allows those young people to work in the United States.
In an interview with MyRGV, De La Cruz said she “believe[d] that there should be legislation for DACA recipients,” though she didn’t elaborate on the details of a permanent DACA proposal she would support.
De La Cruz also voted for the House version of the Secure the Border Act of 2023, HR2. It would increase funding for the Border Patrol and put in place tighter border security measures. It passed the Republican-controlled House 219-213 largely along party lines.