The silence of Gov. Greg Abbott and other top elected officeholders in the Texas Republican Party speaks volumes about the value they put on human life for those not born in the U.S.
It’s been more than a week since a yet-to-be-identified Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Houston fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an immigrant who had lived in the U.S. illegally, but without incident, for 35 years.
In the week since the shooting, we’ve heard crickets in Austin from Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton. They are often outspoken on any number of federal and state issues.
No condolences for a grieving family. Yes, immigrants have families who hurt when their loved ones are killed.
No questions regarding how it came to be that immigration agents in Houston were not wearing body cameras, despite Congress more than two months ago appropriating $20 million expressly to ensure all agents have them — something former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said would happen as soon as money was available.
As for Texas’ U.S. senators, John Cornyn has said nothing, while Ted Cruz has expressed “full confidence” that the federal government will produce a “full and accurate account of what occurred.”
Has he not observed the mendacity that has permeated ICE and DHS leadership when it comes to the encounters with agents that resulted in death or serious injury to civilians, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis?
On multiple occasions, ICE and Border Patrol agents have been found to be untruthful when video, often from bystanders’ smartphones, has contradicted claims about the people they have shot.
Saying that he has “full confidence” in the federal government’s ability to provide anything accurate in this matter conveys unearned respect.
This should be odd for a party that says all lives matter, but it’s become on-brand for a party whose leadership has demonized immigrants. We should be unified in demanding an independent investigation.