Were They Even Listening?

     It did not take long for Texas’ Republican leaders to attack President Obama’s executive order after he announced it earlier this month. U.S. Senator John Cornyn spoke out against it on the Senate floor, and Governor-Elect Greg Abbott assured us all that he will “immediately challenge President Obama in court.” These reactions come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Texas conservatives, being that one of the most prevalent campaign promises made by Republicans during the 2014 midterms was to secure the border. However, based on what the President said in his speech, many aspects of the executive order are aimed at controlling the border more tightly and putting a halt on illegal immigration. One might wonder whether or not Texas Republicans were even listening to the speech. After all, why would a group who wants to control immigration be so eager to thwart an attempt to do exactly that? It seems as though the conservative backlash is less of a policy disagreement than it is a thinly veiled assertion of stubbornness.

     Senator Cornyn justified his disagreement with the executive order by contending that it is “a major boon to the cartels and other gangs” and that “it will almost certainly lead to thousands of people who’ve committed crimes in this country gaining legal status.” Yet it was made expressly clear in the President’s speech that the immigrants who will be eligible to gain temporary legal status do not include those who have committed crimes or are associated with the drug cartels. In fact, President Obama plainly stated that “if you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported.” Furthermore, part of the process of gaining legal status is passing a background check. Texas Republicans’ argument that the executive order will increase threats to Americans’ safety or facilitate cartel activity is completely unfounded.

     Cornyn’s other concern about the President’s action is that prospective illegal immigrants will take it as an indication that “it’s okay to come” into our country undocumented. However, Obama distinctly said that “if you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.” One of the main points of his speech was that attempting to deport every undocumented immigrant in this country would be futile, and devoting the resources needed to do so would actually leave the borders more vulnerable to illegal crossings. By temporarily granting legal status to the non-threatening immigrants, the government is able to shift the focus to deporting criminals and increasing border security.

     Almost every reason Texas’ leaders cited for suing the President over this bill was directly addressed in the speech and proven groundless. It seems that if Abbott wanted to win this case his party would try a bit harder to form an argument based on logic rather than personal beliefs and fear. Texas Republicans have never been known for their kindness towards Hispanic immigrants, and this has become embarrassingly blatant in their dissent towards the President’s executive order. Their threat of a lawsuit is merely an attempt to flex their conservative muscles and will ultimately be a waste of everybody’s time.