RAICES RESPONDS TO TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT’S LIFE-THREATENING BORDER POLICIES AND RHETORIC
CEO of Largest Immigration Legal Services Nonprofit in Texas Decries State’s Disregard for Life After Rio Grande Drownings of Woman and Two Children
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Texas Governor Greg Abbott systematically exploits the lives of people seeking safety and freedom — and exacerbates sociopolitical divides by circumventing federal authority and shutting down our borders to those seeking their human and legal right to asylum. RAICES has long sounded the alarm on his increasingly cruel border policies and the dangerous precedents that Texas has set under his leadership for the rest of the U.S.
“On the heels of Governor Abbott insinuating that only the prospect of murder charges deters the State of Texas from shooting people seeking asylum, we learn that a woman and two children tragically drowned this weekend in the Rio Grande after Texas officials blocked federal agents from responding to distress calls,” says RAICES CEO Dolores K. Schroeder. “Let’s be clear — Governor Abbott’s anti-immigrant policies caused these senseless deaths. His rhetoric and actions not only show disregard for, but also actively threaten, the lives of our immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking community members.”
Schroeder continues, “At RAICES, we believe in the inherent human dignity of every human being, regardless of where they were born. That means we fight against all senseless harms toward our community members — individuals and families who deserve the right to live. It’s that simple.”
RAICES extends our deepest sympathy to the loved ones of the woman and two children who drowned in the Rio Grande, and urges Texans and the American public at large to resist escalating efforts to dehumanize immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families.
RAICES, formally known as the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Headquartered in Texas and with national reach, RAICES promotes migrant justice by providing legal services, social services case management, and rights advocacy for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Learn more at raicestexas.org and follow us on Instagram.
