Texas governor sent out anti-immigrant fundraising letter just one day before El Paso terror attack

Daily Kos Staff

Friday August 23, 2019 · 9:41 AM PDT

2019/08/23 · 09:41

US President Donald Trump shake hands with Texas Governor Greg Abbott as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, Texas, on April 10, 2019. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

In the wake of the El Paso terror attack targeting Latinos in the state, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was establishing a domestic terrorism task force that he claimed would take on rooting out “extremist ideologies that fuel hatred and violence,” but what’s unknown is if his own words will also be investigated by that task force.

A fundraising letter sent out in Abbott’s name just one day before the terror attack used violent, anti-immigrant rhetoric, telling residents in the first sentence that "if we're going to defend Texas, we'll need to take matters into our own hands." It then complains that in “just three weeks in June, 45,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended crossing the Mexican border into Texas! That amounts to the entire population of Galveston—every three weeks. In just six months, we’d add the population of Arlington!”

San Antonio Current reports that “Democrats also pointed out the similarities between Abbott's letter and the escalating anti-immigrant rhetoric of President Donald Trump,” but anyone who can read and isn’t blinded by party affiliation can see the similarities. It’s this kind of rhetoric that drove the white supremacist terrorist to drive hours to El Paso to kill 22 people. The terrorist had complained about a supposed “Hispanic invasion,” and after killing 22 people, told investigators that he was targeting Mexicans.

Regarding the fundraising letter, “Abbott’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Thursday,” The Guardian reports. But it’s not just Abbott that has helped fuel anti-immigrant sentiment. His lieutenant, Dan Patrick, also has a history of racist shit that goes back years, using the El Paso terrorist’s “invasion” wording as far back as 2006. More recently in 2014, he said during a debate that “the first question is to stop the invasion; until you secure the border, you cannot address any other issues.”

Now we’re supposed to believe these two are going to tackle hate. Of course, they could just stop using racist and violent language, but they’re too beholden to remaining in power even if it means more brown and black people will be killed due to hate. “It’s disgusting,” said Manny Garcia of the Texas Democratic Party. “They know exactly what they are doing when they are using this kind of language and using this racist rhetoric to energize their base. It’s really disturbing. It’s alarmist, it’s threatening, it’s hostile.”

Texas governor sent out anti-immigrant fundraising letter just one day before El Paso terror attack

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