TEASER: How Ted Cruz and the GOP Are Using the Border as a Prop
The New Abnormal with Molly Jong-Fast & Rick Wilson- 796 views
- 28 Mar 2021
GOP Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn led a tour for themselves and others in their party at the border on Friday, but according to Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who took over Beto O’Rourke’s former 16th district in Texas, it’s all “political theater.” They want to “use the border as a prop, do a whole lot of complaining and finger pointing. But these are the same people who've been in the Senate for a number of years when their party had control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, [and] they did not solve this problem,” she tells The New Abnormal co-host Molly Jong-Fast and producer Jesse Cannon. That’s not to say that Biden has all the answers, he doesn’t. But she does feel like it’s finally time we get to the root of the immgration debate in our country. “[Constituents] don't want us to be the problem,” she adds. “They want us to solve problems.” But how? It’s two fold, she explains. First, we need to have real sit-down conversations and policies in place in regards to the countries in the Southern Hemisphere to hold them accountable (“These countries are turning a blind eye in many respects to the awful human trafficking, criminal organizations and networks that have existed for a long time.”) And, it’s going to take Americans getting real with themselves. We’ love the ideal of the immigrant more than the actual immigrants themselves. “Why are Americans so afraid of immigrants?” Escobar asks. “We need to instill some compassion into the hearts of Americans.” Plus! She and Molly discuss why Latino voters, in Texas specifically, can be pro-Republican and pro-ICE. It seems irrational but there’s a reason.If you haven't heard, every single week The New Abnormal does a special bonus episode for Beast Inside, the Daily Beast’s membership program. where Sometimes we interview Senators like Cory Booker or the folks who explain our world in media like Jim Acosta or Soledad O’Brien. Sometimes we just have fun and talk to our favorite comedians and actors like Busy Phillips or Billy Eichner and sometimes its just Rick & Molly discussing the fuckery. You can get all of our episodes in your favorite podcast app of choice by becoming a Beast Inside member where you’ll support The Beast’s fearless journalism. Plus! You’ll also get full access to podcasts and articles. To become a member head to newabnormal.thedailybeast.com
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You're about to hear is a teaser for the bonus episodes we do for Beast Inside The Daily Beast membership program. Today, we have a very special guest with Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who represents Texas 16th Congressional District. She also sits on the Committee on Armed Services, as well as the Judiciary Committee to hear this, along with all our past bonus episodes, with guests like Corey Booker, Billy Eichner and QAD, as well as getting full access to The Daily Beast, fearless journalism at The New Abnormal that The Daily Beast dotcom that's new abnormal that The Daily Beast dotcom.
I'm so excited.
You represent Beddows district, right? I do, yes. That's so cool. It feels like immigration has gone from something we haven't been talking about to like the biggest topic that's happening right now. Talk to me about what you have a pretty bold plan. Can you explain it to us?
Absolutely. To hear some members of the media tell it, we've never had immigration challenges at the border until January 20th of this year. But it's been really frustrating to hear members of the media characterize this as though it is a new challenge when it is not a new phenomenon. And I decided to write a piece for The New York Times. And thankfully, they've they've always given me space dating back to 20 percent, maybe 2011. But in 2014, I wrote a piece called Why the Border Crisis is a Myth.
And what has happened repeatedly from Washington has been this this idea that if we could just get tough enough on the border, all of our immigration challenges will go away. And so, you know, the walls kept getting bigger and taller and thicker and uglier investments in drones and personnel and then enter Donald Trump. And it was cruelty and dehumanization. And what we now know after four years of some of the most draconian immigration policies, is that unless you address the root causes, you're not going to change things much.
And you know, the other thing that I hope we do realize is that migration will happen. You cannot stop migration. People move around. Now, what you can do is, is do your best as a country to pay attention to what's happening around you, to work collaboratively with leaders in your hemisphere, to bring people in and find solutions to to really catastrophic issues that people are facing in other countries because it's in our best interest to have as much stability as possible in migration is is optimum.
It's you can't always have that. But you should.