By Karen Gleason
COMSTOCK – Two state assemblymen from Wisconsin called on residents here to get more vocal with their own elected leaders about the nation’s ongoing immigration crisis.
Wisconsin State Rep. Jim Steineke, Wisconsin State Assembly majority leader, who represents Wisconsin’s 5th Assembly District, and Wisconsin State Rep. Tyler August, Wisconsin State Assembly speaker pro-tem, who represents Wisconsin’s 32nd District, both Republicans, visited the border earlier this week.
After their tour, Steineke and August met with about 70 Val Verde County residents, many of who ranch in this area, in the Comstock Community Center Wednesday afternoon.
“We want to hear from you. The reason we came down here to Texas and came to the border to begin with is because of the crisis that’s going on. Back home, we see snippets in the news and as we all know, the media only focuses on it for a day or two before something else comes along, so the rest of the country really has no idea what you’re going through. We didn’t know,” Steineke told the group.
“Rep. August and I went to Israel a few years ago, and if Israel ran their borders the way we run ours, they wouldn’t have a country anymore, and that’s one of the things that concerns us,” he added.
Steineke said he and August wanted to hear landowners’ and ranchers’ stories and carry those stories to their colleagues throughout the country.
“After just being here for 36 hours, we’re shocked. It’s scary for all of us, seeing this firsthand. And the country doesn’t know,” Steineke said.
He insisted the immigration crisis is a federal issue and should not be left to the states along the border to handle.
August, after hearing a half-dozen residents speak about their concerns regarding immigrants trespassing on their ranches, causing property damage and inciting fear, urged Val Verde County residents to contact their state and federal elected leaders and demand they come to the border to see the problem firsthand.
“If this affected the ruling class in Washington, D.C., the problem would be fixed overnight. You’ve got to bring it to their front doorstep,” August said.
“Part of why we’re here is to bring your stories back to Wisconsin to get our constituents and our federal delegation more engaged on this topic. We know that while all of you are affected much more by these issues because of your location, talking to some of the Border Patrol guys, the vast majority of the people coming over don’t stay here. They’re passing through, which causes all kinds of issues, but some of them are going to end up in our districts in Wisconsin,” August added.
August asked those attending the meeting to indicate those who feared for their safety on their own properties. About half of those present raised their hands.
“You need to show your elected leaders what we’ve seen. I don’t know how anybody could go and have the meetings we’ve had and hear the experiences we’re hearing from you and go back home and actually say, it’s really not that big of a deal down there on the Texas border. That’s bullshit. This is a real problem,” August said.
Raul Reyes, a Del Rio native who ran unsuccessfully for election to Texas’ 23rd Congressional District in 2020, spoke to the group as “an activist for the border.”
He urged those present to hold elected leaders accountable.
Val Verde County Republican Party Chair Frank Lopez also attended the meeting.
