South Texas Town Hall Tour

Last week I traveled throughout the entire 27th District hosting get-togethers with the people I represent. These town halls give me the chance to meet with many of you and find out what is on your mind, answer your questions, and learn what things you want accomplished.

One of the topics discussed was the disastrous deal with Iran. The President was charged with negotiating a deal with Iran to keep it from getting a nuclear weapon. To me, that means Iran NEVER gets a nuclear weapon. Even the President admits this deal only delays Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Reports say Iran could become a nuclear nation in 10-15 years. That is one of the things that keeps me up at night. I voted against the crazy procedure that allowed President Obama to negotiate this deal and bring it to Congress. To defeat the trade deal, Congress had to vote to disapprove it, rather than approve it, and he could veto that anyway. In the House, we objected to the deal because the President didn’t provide all the secret side deals to Congress made with Iran. The House’s contention is therefore the 60-day clock for automatic approval has not actually begun. Any bank or business that does business with Iran does so at its own peril.

Another topic brought up at the town halls was border security. What's the point of completely re-writing our immigration laws if we don't secure the border and enforce them? We regularly read about criminal aliens who are arrested while trying to cross the border and are released, despite having committed prior felonies. U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Luis Golberto-Molina after the Yuma County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Office had informed CBP that it intended to take custody of him in connection with a 14-year-old felony warrant for a 1998 residential burglary. The Sheriff’s Office told CBP that it would extradite the fugitive for his 14-year-old felony warrant. However, CBP released Golberto-Molina after the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute him for his illegal reentry. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Golberto-Molina has an extensive criminal history, including charges for nine felonies and eleven misdemeanors. Those charges include, but are not limited to, burglary, possession of a forged instrument, aggravated assault, illegal possession of a weapon, use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony, and terroristic threats. He has been removed from the country five times. The Sheriff’s Office reported that the only explanation CBP offered for its release of this fugitive alien was, “We’ll get him next time.” These types of cases demonstrate America doesn’t just have sanctuary cities, it’s becoming a sanctuary country.