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GOP zeros in on South Texas Dem who urged Trump to ‘allow people to cross freely’
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FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic congressman representing a South Texas district that Donald Trump carried by double digits is emerging as a top Republican target, with the GOP arguing Rep. Vicente Gonzalez’s shifting border record has left him politically exposed at home.
Though traditionally a Democratic stronghold, heavily Hispanic South Texas has trended sharply Republican in recent election cycles. Gonzalez narrowly won his 2023 election over former Rep. Mayra Flores by less than three percentage points. Additionally, the Texas redistricting push last year made Gonzalez’s district seven points more Republican. The race is widely considered a toss-up leaning Republican — one of the few pickup opportunities for the GOP in an unfavorable political climate.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital that Gonzalez’s record on border security and former President Joe Biden has come back to bite him, leaving him «like a fish out of water» in his district.
Gonzalez, however, dismissed these criticisms as Republicans «grasping at straws.» He emphasized that «If you look at my record, you’ll see I was one of the toughest Democrats in the country on President Biden’s approach to our southern border, and I continue working to fix our broken immigration system, support CBP and Border Patrol, and rid our streets of criminals.»
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Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (left), D-Texas, is facing a difficult reelection race against Republican challenger Eric Flores (right). (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Eric Flores campaign)
Under the redrawn Texas congressional map, Gonzalez’s district in the Rio Grande Valley is one that President Donald Trump won by 10 points in 2024, according to the Texas Tribune.
Highly optimistic about the GOP’s chances, Kraft said that South Texans «do not want to go back to the Biden days where cartels controlled the border and endangered the lives of farmers, families, and Border Patrol agents.»
Gonzalez opposed construction of a border wall in 2019, calling it a «4th-century solution to a 21st-century problem,» according to CBS News.
The outlet also quoted Gonzalez denying there was a crisis at the border in 2019, saying, «When people talk about violence streaming across the border, it’s just nonsense.»
During the Biden administration, Gonzalez took a mixed approach to border policy, at times urging the White House to curb «disorderly» crossings while also pushing for expanded asylum pathways and a more «humane process» for migrants. In 2023 he was critical of Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to secure the border, accusing him of «grandstanding … about the way he is treating brown people,» according to the Rio Grande Guardian.
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An aerial image shows migrants waiting along the border wall to surrender to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United Staes on the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on May 10, 2023. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Image; Mandel Ngan – Pool/Getty Images)
At the same time, Gonzalez said that by adding additional penalties to crossing illegally after the end of Title 42, Biden and then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas «positively impacted our border,» adding, «and that’s a fact.»
«People could point fingers and say things, but the reality is, undocumented crossings are down by 70 percent,» he said.
Border crossings briefly dropped by roughly 65% to 70% after the end of Title 42, a COVID-era public health order that allowed authorities to quickly expel illegal border crossers. However, crossings climbed to record highs later that year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Approximately 11 million border encounters occurred over the course of Biden’s four years in office, according to DHS.
In Biden’s final year in office, Gonzalez voted for a House resolution condemning the «national security and public safety crisis» at the southern border, warning that migrants were arriving in «historic numbers.» He has also said the border was «out of control» under the Biden administration.
Since Trump returned to the Oval Office, Gonzalez has also gone on the record, saying, «I’m happy to see that the border is under control,» according to the Rio Grande Guardian.
In an unearthed interview last year, Gonzalez urged Trump to «lighten up» enforcement and «allow people to cross freely» if vetted, arguing such migrants are «a very important part of our economy.»
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A Border Patrol agent apprehends illegal immigrants shortly after they crossed the border from Mexico into the United States on Monday, March 26, 2018 in the Rio Grande Valley Sector near McAllen, Texas. (Loren Elliott/AFP via Getty Images)
During the same interview, Gonzalez asserted, «We need to find a pathway» for illegal immigrants who have been in the country for decades to «be here legally, pay taxes, pay social security and really get them out of the shadows.»
Gonzalez’s Republican opponent, Eric Flores, an Army veteran and former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that «South Texas has paid the price for his total failure.»
«Vicente Gonzalez built his record on policies that opened the border and tied the hands of the very federal agents sworn to protect us,» he went on. «I’ve worked alongside Border Patrol and law enforcement on the front lines, both as a Soldier and as a federal prosecutor. I will always stand with them.»
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In response, Gonzalez told Fox News Digital that «Eric Flores and the NRCC [National Republican Congressional Committee] are drowning and grasping at straws.»
«If you look at my record, you’ll see I was one of the toughest Democrats in the country on President Biden’s approach to our southern border, and I continue working to fix our broken immigration system, support CBP and Border Patrol, and rid our streets of criminals — something this Administration claims it is doing, but instead let DHS shutdown and fixates on targeting law-abiding individuals and their families,» he said.
«The truth is, Republican voters in South Texas are turning away from the extreme mass deportation policies Rubber Stamp Eric will support. The same ones that have led to American citizens being murdered on our streets and labor shortages that are making housing and other essentials more expensive.»
Fox News Digital also reached out to a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for comment.
elections, texas, democrats elections, immigration, republicans elections, border security, greg abbott
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Delaney Hall protests intensify as far-left activists, ICE supporters converge in New Jersey
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NEWARK, N.J. — The continued unrest outside Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, took on a distinctly ideological tone during ICE demonstrations Saturday, as far-left communist-socialist activists and a far-right group clashed, transforming a protest over the center’s conditions into a broader political spectacle.
The standoff began more than a week ago, when illegal immigrant detainees penned an open letter alleging physical and psychological torture, claiming they were being denied medical care and adequate food.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quickly denied the allegations, releasing facility menus to prove detainees are provided three daily meals with options like chicken fajitas and Salisbury steak.
Communist groups gather outside Delany Hall in Newark, N.J., Saturday, to protest ICE. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
NEW JERSEY AGITATORS BITE, KICK AND PUNCH ICE AGENTS AS DELANEY HALL CLASHES CONTINUE; 9 MORE ARRESTED: DHS
After violent skirmishes earlier in the week, where federal agents were assaulted by agitators, Democrat Gov. Mikie Sherrill ordered the New Jersey State Police to take over security, claiming the move was necessary to protect the demonstrators from an «ICE surge.»
By Saturday morning, the immigrant detention center had been transformed into a fortified zone surrounded by large orange plastic barricades and metal fencing.
State officials admitted the chaos is being driven by outside instigators rather than local residents, with state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport confirming five of the six people arrested by state police this week were not from New Jersey.
Far-right activists were seen facing off Saturday with far-left communists and socialists at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark, N.J. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
A crowd of roughly 200 anti-ICE demonstrators, heavily intertwined with far-left and socialist organizations, dominated the scene Saturday, chanting, «Stop ICE Gestapo! Communist revolution!» while distributing radical literature reading «LONG LIVE COMMUNISM!» and «NO PAPERS, NO BORDERS, NO BOSSES.»
ICE supporters, including members of the far-right Proud Boys, also made an appearance at the protest Saturday carrying pro-ICE flags, food and cases of water for law enforcement.
Their arrival sent a shockwave through the heavily outnumbering anti-ICE crowd, with far-left agitators immediately rushing toward the barriers, screaming profanities and shifting their chants to «Proud Boys go home.»
Pro-ICE supporters clash with anti-ICE agitators during demonstrations outside the Delaney Hall detention center, Saturday, in Newark, N.J. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
During a news conference Saturday afternoon, Sherrill claimed ICE engagement «creates an incredibly dangerous situation» adding she refuses to «back down in fighting the Trump administration and the threats they’ve made.»
Sherrill acknowledged that «national extremist groups» have infiltrated the protests to create chaos, warning out-of-state actors that they are endangering the public and not helping the detainees.
Demonstrators for and against the Delaney Hall detention center yell at each other outside the facility Saturday, in Newark, N.J. (Angelina Katsanis/AP)
«You’re not helping detainee families, and you’re certainly not keeping new Jersey safe today,» the governor said. «Going forward, I urge those protesting outside of Delaney Hall to bring the temperature down so we can focus on the detainees and their families. Comply with the lawful orders from local and state law enforcement and let advocates, faith leaders and members of this community continue their work here in America.»
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She added state health inspectors were recently blocked from viewing anything other than the facility’s kitchen, and called on the Department of Homeland Security to stop pressuring detainees into signing deportation documents.
new jersey, illegal immigrants, homeland security, immigration, immigrant rights, us protests, politics
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Guerra en Irán: los halcones del régimen intentan descarrilar un posible acuerdo con Estados Unidos
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Padres ejecutados, hijos raptados: la desaparición forzada de más de 50 niños salvadoreños en la “Guinda de Mayo”
El estruendo de las hélices rasgaba el cielo plomizo de Chalatenango entre el 27 de mayo y el 9 de junio de 1982. No eran misiones de rescate; eran los helicópteros del ejército salvadoreño que descendían en las inmediaciones de los ríos Sumpul y Gualsinga para ejecutar el operativo militar “Limpieza”, conocido entre las familias sobrevivientes como la “Guinda de Mayo”.
Mientras las comunidades campesinas huían despavoridas entre la maleza para salvaguardar la vida, un engranaje estatal y militar se activaba con un propósito tan silencioso como estremecedor: separar a los hijos de sus padres mediante el terror, la muerte y el desarraigo.
En total, 55 niños y niñas se desvanecieron en el torbellino de aquella ofensiva bélica. 44 años después, Margarita Zamora, especialista en investigación de la Asociación Pro-Búsqueda, revela en entrevista exclusiva con Infobae los detalles de una de las prácticas más macabras del conflicto armado salvadoreño: un modus operandi sistemático diseñado para el tráfico humano de menores, camuflado bajo el ropaje del auxilio humanitario.
“La práctica del ejército era asesinar a los padres y llevarse a los niños. De esa manera, no había nadie que los reclamara”, explica Zamora con una serenidad dolorosa. El desparpajo de las familias en la huida facilitaba la captura. Madres exhaustas que arrastraban a dos o tres infantes, cargando bebés en brazos mientras esquivaban las ráfagas de fusilería, se ponían en total vulnerabilidad.
Al ejecutar a los progenitores en el terreno, las guarniciones militares transportaban a los sobrevivientes en helicópteros hacia sectores como La Sierpe o Victoria, en Cabañas.
El horror militar daba paso inmediato a la burocracia civil. Los niños eran entregados a la Cruz Roja, a damas voluntarias y a orfanatos locales bajo actas falsas que declaraban un “abandono moral y material total”.
Se borraba su identidad y se catalogaban como huérfanos extraviados. “En ningún momento fueron extraviados”, enfatiza la investigadora. “Ellos no andaban paseando; andaban guindeando, corriendo para salvar sus vidas”.
Detrás del discurso institucional de “salvación” operaba una red clandestina integrada por abogados locales y altos mandos castrenses mencionando reportes históricos de entrevistas a miembros del Estado Mayor de la época que convirtieron el drama en un negocio millonario.
Los trámites de adopción internacional se cotizaban entre los 5,000 y 15,000 dólares por niño. Abogados con rutas comerciales ya establecidas los distribuyeron por el mundo:
- Francia
- Italia
- Estados Unidos
- Suiza
- Holanda
- España
- Inglaterra
- Suecia.
Parejas extranjeras pagaban la cifra creyendo que auxiliaban a huérfanos desamparados, desconociendo que la sangre de los padres biológicos aún manchaba los expedientes de origen.
El desglose de las víctimas de la Guinda de Mayo, sistematizado recientemente por Pro-Búsqueda, reconstruye las identidades rotas del operativo.
La cifra exacta de infantes desaparecidos la componen 27 niños y 27 niñas. El último caso es el más perturbador: un bebé cuyo sexo se desconoce porque el ejército capturó a su madre embarazada en plena fuga, perdiéndose el rastro de ambos hasta el día de hoy.
Las edades de todos ellos oscilaban entre los cero y los diez años, al momento de ser arrebatados. De los 55 casos documentados en este operativo, Pro-Búsqueda ha logrado resolver 31 casos; 17 ya experimentaron el “abrazo postergado” al reencontrarse vivos con sus raíces familiares.
Sin embargo, 13 han sido localizados fallecidos; la investigación confirmó que fueron ejecutados de forma masiva en un solo lugar aniquilado por las tropas, aunque la falta de voluntad judicial solo ha permitido la exhumación de seis de ellos.
El caso número 31 constituye una paradoja del trauma: un joven localizado en Francia, cuya identidad biológica fue confirmada mediante pruebas de ADN, pero de momento ha decido no reencontrarse con su familia biológica.
Rosa Rivera, sobreviviente, relata los desgarradores eventos de la «Guinda de Mayo» de 1982. Un operativo militar en Chalatenango que se convirtió en una masacre, dejando cientos de desaparecidos, incluyendo a muchos niños, cuyas familias aún buscan justicia.
Aún quedan 24 nombres flotando en la incertidumbre absoluta de Chalatenango. Entre ellos se encuentran los expedientes de las hermanas Erlinda y Ernestina Serrano Cruz, un caso paradigmático con sentencia internacional que obliga al Estado salvadoreño a investigar el paradero y castigar a los responsables individuales de la masacre. Sin embargo, la impunidad se mantiene incólume.
“El principal obstáculo sigue siendo la negación del Estado a abrir los archivos militares. Los oficiales que participaron en estas masacres tienen la información; estos hechos no se borran de la memoria. Falta voluntad política para darnos la verdad”, denuncia Zamora.
Los padres de las víctimas envejecen y mueren con las manos vacías. Ante esto, Pro-Búsqueda resguarda un banco de perfiles genéticos diseñado gracias al impulso pionero del padre Jon de Cortina (Q.E.P.D.) y el doctor Cristian Orrego.
Aunque los padres biológicos mueran, sus códigos genéticos permanecen listos para cotejar el ADN de cualquier adulto en el mundo que hoy, superando los 40 años, dude de su procedencia y sospeche haber sido un bebé extraído de la guerra salvadoreña.
La búsqueda no cesa. Es el intento tardío pero firme de escribir las líneas de una página en blanco para decenas de identidades robadas que aún ignoran que, en un rincón de El Salvador, hay una raíz destruida que jamás dejó de esperarlos.
acuarela,madre,niño,río Sumpul,río Gualsin,conflicto,pérdida,desaparición,helicóptero,El Salvador
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