International
Latina Republicans deploy tough border rhetoric in chase for Texas seats
| By AFP | Paula Ramon |
When Mayra Flores made history this June as the first Mexican-born member of the US Congress, the Republican seized her south Texas seat from the Democrats by courting Latinos with strident calls to close the border.
That apparent paradox has made the 36-year-old — whose campaign slogan is “God, family, country” — one of the faces of the Republican Party’s new push in the border region for the November midterm elections.
She is bidding to repeat her victory next month, when fellow Latina Republicans Monica de la Cruz, Cassy Garcia and Carmen Maria Montiel will also vie for nearby congressional seats that for decades have remained Democratic.
The group hope to appeal directly to a community made up largely of immigrants and children of immigrants, who are increasingly calling to expand the wall that separates their adopted home country from Latin America.
Sara Rodriguez, a resident of Edinburg, 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Mexico border, plans to vote for Flores because she “represents our views as far as immigration goes.”
“There’s an influx of a lot of people coming through the valley, especially here at the south border…. I feel like it’s very unsafe right now.”
Flores won her seat in a special poll this summer after the Democratic incumbent resigned.
Campaigning for re-election in the border city of McAllen, she won raucous applause from a crowd wearing boots and wide-brimmed hats during a speech peppered with fierce rhetoric on further tightening the border.
“Red wave! Red wave!” supporters chanted, referencing the Republican Party’s color, as a mariachi band played traditional Mexican music.
“The Democratic Party has walked away from the Hispanic community. They just take us for granted every election year,” Flores told AFP after her rally.
‘My hard work’
Democrats in various US states have for years benefited from the traditional support of Latino voters, which in the 1990s played a key role in transforming California into a solidly blue state.
But in south Texas, where Hispanics or Latinos (40.2 percent) outnumbered non-Latino or Hispanic whites (39.4 percent) for the first time this year, the Democrats’ lead has gradually shrunk.
In 2020, Donald Trump’s hardline immigration stance was widely credited with helping to slash the Democratic lead over Republican voters along the Texas border to 17 percent, from 33 percent four years earlier.
While they rarely mention the former president by name in speeches, local Republican candidates have adopted his nationalist and pro-wall rhetoric, while highlighting their community roots.
“It’s so important that you have people who live on the border, who understand the border, representing the border,” said de la Cruz, who hopes to win a seat held by Democrats for more than a century.
Jesus Contreras, a Mexican who became a naturalized US citizen in the 1990s, plans to vote for her after decades of supporting the Democrats.
“My parents, everybody, taught me, ‘Oh the Republicans are bad,’” he said, switching between English and Spanish. “But they’re not.”
Contreras blames the Democrats for the border situation, and for the rising cost of living.
“The folks that are coming across are helping the economy in which way? Do they pay taxes?” he asked.
“As far as I know, I’ve been paying taxes all my life. But yeah, they come over here and… get to reap the benefits of my hard work.
“I don’t think so.”
‘Unacceptable’
Between last October and this September, US authorities reported more than 2.3 million “border encounters” — a record.
The figure does not directly translate into the number of migrants, as many people try several times to cross.
Many are seeking asylum, claiming to be fleeing dangerous situations in countries such as Guatemala, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
Venezuela has seen an explosion in cases, with more than 180,000 of its citizens intercepted at the US southern border in one year.
For Montiel, a former beauty queen who is running in Houston to become the first Venezuelan-American in Congress, the situation is “unacceptable.”
“My constituents want the border to be closed, for there to be legal migration,” she told AFP.
“Even if they are Venezuelans, I do not agree with someone entering this country breaking the law,” she added, although her former country has no diplomatic relations with Washington and no functioning US embassy.
‘Coming from poverty’
Still, in the border city of Laredo, multiple Latino voters told AFP they defined themselves as Democrats because of the party’s humanitarian position on immigration.
“It is not dangerous here — migrants come to work,” says Gustavo Hernandez, a taxi driver who arrived 25 years ago from Mexico.
“They are just coming from poverty,” he added.
Sandra Ibarra, who spoke to AFP on her way to attend noon Mass at Laredo’s cathedral, said it was “necessary for everyone to get out and vote.”
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “has done a lot of good things and he is trying to do everything he can to help immigrants, but the governor (Republican Greg Abbott) puts a lot of restrictions on us,” she said.
“We are at a crossroads.”
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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