Introduction
Border control between Texas and Mexico is an issue that deserves excessive attention during the Trump-Clinton presidential race. The situation repeated itself during the next presidential elections, including in the campaign of Joe Biden. The coronavirus pandemic that began in February 2019 led to the implementation of Section 42, which allowed federal officials to deny migrants border crossings, including the ability to seek asylum. Texas Democratic politicians now support the repeal of Section 42 and the reopening of the border with Mexico. This paper aims to discuss how the Texan public reacted to Beto O’Rourke’s claim regarding Section 42 extension.
The Article
The article is about an El Paso politician who has represented the region in Congress for six years. The paper is called “Beto O’Rourke Carefully Threads Needle on Border Policy as Democrats Grapple with the Issue” and written by James Barragan and Patrick Svitek, criticizes the statement of Beto O’Rourke. Recently, O’Rourke has changed his political stance and has spoken out in favor of retaining Section 42 (Barragan & Svitek, 2022). Texas publicity reacted negatively to this statement, noting that O’Rourke creates dissonance and his position does not consider problems on the border.
Representatives of the public involved in the transportation of goods drew O’Rourke’s attention to the existing queues of trucks. According to O’Rourke’s latest statement, Section 42 should not be repealed until an appropriate legislative alternative is developed (Ferman et al., 2022). Representatives of non-profit organizations also emphasized that border operations could be carried out under the old standards. These standards currently allow the successful registration of migrants and verification of trade units.
James Barragan and Patrick Svitek also point out that the Texas-Mexico border is an important topic for Governor Abbott. The latter put a lot of effort into building a section of the border wall and introduced additional checks for trucks with goods (Ferman et al., 2022). In other words, O’Rourke’s supporters among Democrats, who shared his views on the protection of migrants, are upset by the new position of the politician, which, in their opinion, is not sufficiently substantiated from the practical side.
Critical Opinion
On the one hand, I consider the criticism of O’Rourke’s statements fair and timely since he could change political preferences and views on some social issues and programs. In this case, public comment is an effective measure, as publicizing some of the unethical decisions of politicians prevent their subsequent re-election and reduces their popularity among voters. On the other hand, if O’Rourke proposes to pay more attention to border control legislation, his proposals for such new legislation should be listened to. As a result, it may turn out that O’Rourke is opposed to draconian methods like building a wall or introducing additional checks on the border.
In both cases, journalists should try to get a more extended commentary from the politician if they want to understand the reason for the change in position on the issue under discussion. The third option why O’Rourke made his statement is the desire to draw attention to his person, with the aim of subsequent participation in resolving the issue and increasing political influence. If the third option is correct, I believe that the public should not lose sight of the politician’s actions, partnerships, and new political alliances, as publicity is a powerful weapon.
done in as little as 1 hour
Conclusion
The article states that most of the politician’s supporters condemned such a statement, as the existence of barriers to the normal functioning of the border creates problems for both sides – Mexico and the United States. Just as important, the announcement may be due to a shift in political stance and support for Republican Gov. Abbott, who initiated the wall construction on the Texas-Mexico border. Nevertheless, because Texas became the center of the border construction between the USA and Mexico, more people were integrated into the process. Moreover, the state’s general political and economic situation started developing, and more working opportunities appeared. Forwards-looking goals made the governance of Texas the most attractive for professionals in diverse industries.
References
Barragan, J., & Svitek, P. (2022). Beto O’Rourke carefully threads the needle on border policy as Democrats grapple with the issue. The Texas Tribune.
Ferman, M., Barragan, J., & Garcia, U. J. (2022). International trade halted at Texas border crossings as truckers protest Greg Abbott’s new inspections. The Texas Tribune.