things that matter

A Texas Lawmaker Called ICE On Protesters — And All Hell Broke Lose

By May 30, 2017 at 4:04 pm

On Memorial Day, while most of us were kicking back, more than 1,000 protesters gathered in the public gallery of the Texas House to loudly voice their disdain for the new anti-immigrant law known as SB4. Protestors wanted answers about the new law, which requires local police to follow federal procedures concerning undocumented people.

One Republican lawmaker was not happy that protesters were disrupting their session.

CREDIT: Credit: Matt RinaldiTX / Twitter

On the House floor, Texas Republican Rep. Matt Rinaldi was so annoyed with protesters that he told his democratic colleagues that he called ICE to arrest non-citizens who were protesting, the New York Times reports.

With protesters outside and inside the gallery, and Rinaldi losing it, things just escalated from there.

Democrat Rep. César J. Blanco also said that Rinaldi used an obscenity on the floor.

Blanco claims that Rinaldi actually said: “I called I.C.E…Fuck them!”

That’s when all hell broke lose on the floor between Rinaldi and democrats.

Credit: Mark F / YouTube

“We were in shock,” Blanco told The New York Times. “He assumed that because they were brown, in the gallery and protesting that they were here illegally.”

The protesting wasn’t just happening inside the public gallery.

There was music and dancing…

… but back inside, lawmakers were at each other’s throats.

The drama continued to unfold as Democratic Rep. Poncho Nevárez alleged that Rinaldi threatened to shoot him.

“There was a subsequent exchange between my brother Poncho and Representative Rinaldi and there was a threat made from Rinaldi to put a bullet in one of my colleague’s heads,” Rep. Justin Rodriguez told reporters after the incident, The Texas Observer reported. “That kind of threatening language, he needs to be called out and held accountable for.”

The GOP politician doesn’t dispute that he’d shoot Nevárez but claimed he only said it as self-defense.

It’s also not clear if anyone will press charges, but according to a press release, Republican House speaker Joe Straus said, “There is no excuse for members making insensitive and disparaging remarks on the floor of the Texas House.”

READ: John Leguizamo Calls On Latino Celebs To Boycott Texas Because Of New Anti-Immigrant Law

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Deported Veterans In Tijuana Will Get A Visit From Texas Congressman Joaquin

Things That Matter

Deported Veterans In Tijuana Will Get A Visit From Texas Congressman Joaquin

Facebook/Congressman Joaquin Castro, Deported Veterans Support House
By Araceli Cruz May 31, 2017 at 11:07 am

Texas congressman Joaquín Castro is heading to Tijuana, Mexico, on Saturday to visit several veterans that live in a shelter after they were deported from the United States. Castro also plans to introduce new measures to Congress that will hopefully help these service members.

For decades, immigrants have served in the United States armed forces, some of them with the hope that their service will lead to citizenship. However, many service members have not only been denied citizenship — they have also been deported. Recruiters tell service members that they can quickly gain citizenship for themselves and their family after serving honorably. But many of them assume that just by serving, they are automatically citizens. That is not the case. They are often not informed about the actual process and paperwork needed in order to make that happen.

If service members get into any sort of trouble with authorities, regardless of the matter, it could also hinder the possibility of becoming a citizen.

“Many of us believe that they should be allowed to become citizens,” Castro told NBC Latino. “Many, if not most, were legal permanent residents, who were eligible to become citizens and perhaps never applied — they stood up for their country and put their lives on the line.”

Castro’s visit will include meeting veterans that are currently living at the Deported Veterans Support House — a shelter in Tijuana.

DVSH also went out to the Border with a few stragglers, voiced our message ,Stop the Deportation of U.S Veteran ,…

Posted by Deported Veterans Support House on Monday, February 13, 2017


As of January 2017, statistics provided by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus show there are 10,644 non-citizens currently serving in the U.S. military and an additional 11,524 non-citizens under reserve status.

A 2016 report by the ACLU estimates that the United States has deported more than 230 veterans.

Overall, there are about 608,000 living foreign-born veterans of the U.S. armed forces. After Mexico, the greatest numbers of lawful permanent resident service members come from the Philippines, Jamaica, South Korea, and the Dominican Republic.

Lawmakers traveling with Castro are proposing to introduce at least four new measures that would help veterans gain citizenship, have healthcare protections, and have a proper training system in place that will give them access to citizenship.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have naturalized more than 109,321 noncitizen service members between 2002 and 2015.

[MORE] NBC NEWS: Rep. Joaquín Castro Leading Trip to Mexico to Meet With Deported Veterans

READ: A Texas Lawmaker Called ICE On Protesters — And All Hell Broke Lose

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Tags: politics, Immigration Rights, Mexico
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