HARLINGEN, Texas - U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez gave an in-depth presentation when he spoke at a South Texas Alliance of Cities meeting.
The event was held at the Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum.
Much of the congressman’s commentary focused on immigration, border security and international trade.
“I have a lot to brag about back in DC, because even in times like now, when it feels that things are starting to stagnate a little bit or there's less growth, the RGV (Rio Grande Valley) is still growing and we're still prospering and investment is still coming,” Gonzalez said.
That said, there is still a lot of work to do, the congressman said.
“I'm happy to see that the border is under control. I was one of the most critical Democrats in the country on the Biden administration because I thought the border was out of control. It seems to be a pretty quiet place these days. And I think that we should all be happy about that.
“But, at the same time, I don't agree with people with masks on their face who unlock cars, nabbing people off the streets of America the way we've seen recently. And our border crossings are down about 30 percent across the border.”
Gonzalez, D-McAllen, said 30 percent is significant.
“That is something we need to continue urging the administration to kind of lighten up on, and allow people to cross freely, good people that have already been vetted through embassies and consulates around the world, that we know are coming here to spend money and invest and who are very important and part of our economy.”
Gonzalez said the United States should not be deterring potential investors.
“We need to be able to send that message to Mexican nationals who have made significant investments in our banks and construction and development, especially Padre Island and all through throughout the Valley, business owners. We need to have a policy that welcomes them.”
Gonzalez said the “small” city of McAllen, with a population of just 130,000, gets almost $2 billion a year through Mexican national deposits into local banks. “That’s money that's invested and reinvested, money that we borrow. And we should be welcoming that type of foreign investment and have policies in place that welcome them.”
Just like Mexican travel, Canadian travel is “way down” as well, Gonzalez explained. “European travel is down 12 percent, which is significant. People say, oh, it's only 12 percent. That translates to billions and billions of dollars.”
It is on topics like this that Democrats should be having honest conversations with their friends across the aisle, Gonzalez said, to “find common ground and assure that we nurture an environment that is business friendly.”
Gonzalez said the U.S. needs to take a tough stand on migrants who have a criminal record.
“We definitely should not allow criminals to come into our country. In fact, we should deport every single criminal we can find in this country.” But, he said, “there are a lot of good people that are in the country without legal residency. We need to find a pathway for them to stay and work.”
Gonzalez said he is working on legislation that will help.
“I'm working on a bill called the Safe American Workforce Act, which creates a pathway for people who have been here five years or longer and have never had a criminal or legal problem in the United States, where their employer can sponsor them to stay for one year at a time.”
Gonzalez said such legislation will especially help alleviate some of the workforce issues the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and even the nation is facing.
“A lot of the hardest work in America is done by immigrant labor, and the vast majority of them are not criminals. They're hardworking people, and we need to find a pathway (to citizenship for them),” Gonzalez said.
“I just had an event about a month ago with a farming community in my district, and these were 100 percent strong supporters of this administration. But they weren't expecting two things. They weren't expecting the labor shortage that they have now, that doesn't allow them to even harvest the crops that they're farming, and they weren't expecting the tariffs that are preventing them from selling their products.
“They’re hurting. And when they're hurting, we're all hurting because they're an intricate and important part of our economy.”
Gonzalez continued: “The construction industry also has been heavily impacted here in South Texas. We don't have enough labor to actually build homes or build buildings at the rate that we were doing prior to this policy taking place.”
The same lack of workers is impacting restaurants and hotels, he said.
“I think if you go to the chamber (of commerce), you'll find all types of businesses that rely on labor, and a lot of that labor are people that have been here for 20 or 30 years, that don't have a legal status. We need to find a pathway for them to be here legally, pay taxes, pay Social Security, and really get them out of the shadows.”
Gonzalez said these are people that we know.
“Sometimes we've known them for decades, and we don't realize that they don't have a legal status. But, right now, people are living scared, and it's not just the workers, it's also the businesses.”
Gonzalez said the farming community is especially concerned because a lot of the harvest workers live on the farms where they work.
“They stay the little casitas while they're doing the work. Well, since we recently had that case with that bakery in Los Fresnos, where, if you give them housing, if they sleep at your place, if they sleep on your property, you can be charged with harboring. It’s a felony that carries years of jail time.”
Gonzalez said everyone is award that ICE will pick up workers if they think they do not have documents.
“But if you give them housing, or if you are transporting them, you can be charged with a federal felony, and they (the bakery in Los Fresnos) were just charged with that. They were discharged and found guilty, and I think it's on appeal right now. But they were found guilty, and it's really got farmers pretty spooked, not only here, but across the country.”
Gonzalez said he met with farmers in Washington recently.
“They're really worried because the harvest workers that move with a harvest around the country usually are housed. Part of the deal is that they're housed at these farms, and farmers are now very concerned about providing housing for these workers, which makes it much more costly for them and for the workers. They’re concerned about being charged with a federal offense.”
Gonzalez said these are “really, really important topics” that are top of mind for a lot of people, especially in South Texas.“We need to be talking to our members of Congress. We need to be talking to senators here and across the country, through associations, obviously through cities and counties and organizations. But we need to make sure that the business community is communicating this.”
Gonzalez said he has come to realize what gets through when he is talking to members across the political aisle.
“A lot of times when we talk about it from the immigrant perspective or the migrant perspective, that we're dividing families when we're ripping people off the streets… it doesn't really get the sympathy that it deserves,” he said.
“But when you talk about it affecting business, it really changes people's perspective. I’ve noticed that, and I think that that's kind of the way we’ve got to think about things.”
Gonzalez gave another example of how to reach out to members of the opposing party.
“I can tell you, since I got to Congress, I've been very engaged in battling the cartel problem in Mexico. And we have a bipartisan group of members in Congress that convene regularly to see what policies we could put in place to help us with that issue,” Gonzalez said.
“And I always tell the story that in the last eight to ten years, more Mexican nationals have died to cartel violence than we've lost soldiers in every war from Korea to today. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, every military conflict that this country has gone through, from the Korean War to today, has resulted in less soldiers dying than Mexican nationals have died across the border, just from the violence of organized crime.”
Gonzalez said this message “doesn’t really resonate much.” However, when he brings it back to business, other members of Congress pay attention.
“When we start talking about our businesses being taxed by cartels across the border, in fact, all throughout Mexico, not just on the border, that really resonates. And people say, wait a minute, so there's really not free trade? I say, no, not completely, because (while our traders) do not pay the Mexican government a tax, they are paying cartels to get their products and services to their final destination.”
Gonzalez said when he explains this development, “people perk up.”
He said: “So, sometimes, it's not the people who are hurt the most where the story sells and resonates with people. Sometimes it's talking about the impact it has on just regular businesses across the country. We need to find those little niches of information that really help us sell it.”
Gonzalez continued: “I think when we talk to Senator Cornyn or Senator Cruz, those are the issues that I think we need to talk about. Hey, it's hurting our business. The lack of labor is hurting business. The cartel problem across the border is hurting business.
"There are a lot of people in Washington that really care about those issues. It doesn't matter which side of the aisle you're on, it is a problem, and it's an American problem. It's not a Democratic or Republican problem, and it really requires bipartisan solutions to fix them. And so, we're going to keep working on that.”
