The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, that aired on “Face the Nation” on July 23, 2023.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, who’s in San Diego, California, this morning. Good morning to you.
REPRESENTATIVE TONY GONZALES: Good morning, Margaret. Thank you for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: As you well know, the Justice Department has given Governor Abbott until 1 p.m. on Monday to remove this floating barrier in the Rio Grande, which he says is in place to expel migrants. Do you think this is humane and acceptable?
REP. GONZALES: I think the border crisis has been anything but humane. I think you’re seeing the governor do everything he possibly can to secure the border. But you have this states versus- versus central government nonstop going back and forth. The buoys are-are one step. I think you’re seeing how desperate a situation is happening in- in Texas. But what I’m seeing is people are getting injured along the border, people are drowning certainly in that river. I would much rather see not one person step foot in that river vice having to go- vice going through these obstacles and other- other areas. But we cannot- we can’t just wait on the President to solve things. We can’t wait for governors to try to fix it themselves. Congress has a role to play in this.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. But the administration says that in one week alone, agents reported dozens of migrants with injuries including those broken limbs, you reference and drownings including several children under the age of one. Should those buoys be removed now?
REP. GONZALES: I don’t think the buoys are the problem. Honestly, Margaret, this has been happening every single week. We’ve seen people drown last year, there were hundreds of migrants that are drowning. I’m glad it’s getting some attention. I’d much rather see the attention get focused on something else. The reality is the buoy is only a very small, little portion of the river. So it continues to have these other obstacles. I am concerned though that, you know, I’ve seen reports that the DPS troopers, over a dozen, have filed complaints about what is happening. One one statement in particular, I saw an individual that is an Iraq veteran that’s saying you know, some of the humanitarian camps in Iraq were treated better than what’s happening along the border.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, exactly. And that’s why there is such scrutiny here. The administration is looking at some of these claims being made by Texas troopers and Texas medics, one of them, Nicholas Wingate, had an email that went public I’m sure you’ve seen it. He said troopers were ordered to push small children and nursing babies back into the river to deny water to migrants in this extreme heat. He said a pregnant woman who was in the midst of a miscarriage had to be cut out of razor wire she was ensnared in. This is your district, is this acceptable? These tactics?
REP. GONZALES: It’s not acceptable. It’s not acceptable. And it hasn’t been acceptable for two years. If this was important to President Biden, I’m happy to host him–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — But these tactics specifically. This medic is saying they will take measures under the law, but not ones that are inhumane are these tactics, in your view inhumane.
REP. GONZALES: Everything that is happening along the border is-is-is just adding fuel to the fire because what you’re having is you’re having people at the very top say one thing and the people down at the ground do another. The governor no doubt is doing everything he can to secure the border. But there is a disconnect between what is happening at the top and the person at the ground that is delivering- that is doing the actual function. I would be happy to host the president of the United States at Eagle Pass and walk through this situation. To me, Congress has to solve this because we’ve been waiting on a president for decades to solve this and it’s not going to be solved. That’s why I introduced the HIRE Act. What the HIRE Act does is it focuses on legal immigration. I’m a proponent of legal immigration. Right now nine out of 10 people that come over illegally do not qualify for asylum. So let’s set- let’s stop sending them down this route. I’m excited- this HIRE Act has a dozen Republican co-sponsors and half a dozen Democrat co-sponsors. What it does, it takes work visas from one year to three years. These are some things that we can do to alleviate this crisis. Once again, Margaret, I don’t want to see one person step one foot in the water. More or less have us talk about the-the discussion of you know, some of these- these inhumane situations that they’re put in.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you have any pledge from the Speaker of the House that he will put your vote- to put your bill to a vote?
REP. GONZALES: I’ve spoken with leaderships on both sides of the aisle. I think this bill has a long way to go. I also say that look sounds having 18 members–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — That sounds like a no?
REP. GONZALES: What’s that?
MARGARET BRENNAN: That sounds like no?
REP. GONZALES: I wouldn’t say no. I mean, the bill has 18-18 co-sponsors. That’s a good start. I’ve got about 40 outside sponsors to include the Chamber of Commerce, to include the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, so a lot of it relies on the rank and file coming together. But once this bill gets 100 co-sponsors, once we get 100 outside organizations, how is this going to help American people? You know if you’re tired of waiting 30 minutes for your beer, the HIRE Act and help get- get the labor shortage down. You know, if you’re tired of waiting two weeks to see a doctor, because there’s a shortage of nurses, the HIRE Act can help with that. You’re tired of waiting a month to get your remodel and your bathroom done. These are sensible options. In my eyes, in the 118th Congress, what can get done is something along these lines. We- you know, immigration reform has for so long been focused on the fringes, you know, focus on border security, or a pathway to citizenship. This does none of that, this focuses on work visas.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. It’s very, very, very narrow. And it’s very, very focused on seasonal workers and extending for a very short period of time, which I understand your broader efforts. But-but it’s chipping away at a problem. In the moment we are in, do you think, this immediate crisis at the border, do you have any doubts about the effectiveness of what the state is doing?
REP. GONZALES: I do have- I do have- I do worry what’s happening at all levels state, local, federal, and what I see is a disconnect. I see distrust. I see Republicans blaming Democrats, Democrats blaming Republicans, and round-round and round we go with nothing getting accomplished. The goal of the HIRE Act was one simple thing: create trust, and put one step forward. All of a sudden, you take one step, then you take two steps, then we can have a little bit of trust and build upon the more difficult problems. What do we do with the millions of people that are already here? What do we do with the millions of people that are coming here illegally? How do we prevent them from taking these dangerous trucks? One of those options is through work visas. I think it makes a lot of sense. But it- it first starts with building a coalition of people willing to have that reasonable conversation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of the policies in place right now at the border, a California judge is poised to potentially throw out some of the Biden border policies that were put in place, because they are characterized as too restrictive. Okay. This would declare migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter illegally or failed to seek protection in another country. That’s the current policy, the court may throw that out. What do you think will happen? And do you think the administration deserves any credit for what they have put in place?
REP. GONZALES: The- the numbers are absolutely down. But we’re still on track for 100,000 people coming over illegally a month. These are still historic numbers, they are down. I’d much rather see the administration instead of focusing on illegal immigration, because right now, nine out of 10 people that- that claim asylum aren’t going to get asylum. So stop sending them down this dead-end road, I would much rather partner with the administration or anyone on legal immigration. There’s no talk of legal immigration. There’s no talk of increasing legal pathways. It’s only what happens when people are here illegally. Do we push them in the river? Do we let them through? Do we give them this one app where they go straight to it? It’s all a broken system. And the administration is doing very little, if nothing to focus on legal immigration. That’s why I say we got to stop waiting on the president. It has to be Congress that leads and it has to be the rank and file that come together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as those that want to fix this problem.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So Homeland Security and the Secretary deserve some credit for the numbers being down? But you’re just saying it’s insufficient.
REP. GONZALES: I mean, there’s a lot- they do deserve some credit for the numbers being down. But there’s a lot of reasons for that. It’s also 115 degrees in Texas right now. So, you know, a lot of people are waiting until a cooler part of the year to come over. But once again, I don’t want one person to step one foot in that river illegally. What if there’s a route where they didn’t have to be smuggled in the train? What if this, you know the HIRE Act got passed, and people can come over and work legally. Not having to live in the shadows have to live- you know, could be able to- to live their lives? Most people are coming here, for one reason, Margaret, and that’s economic purposes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I also want to ask you about other bipartisan efforts you have undertaken for school safety, and around guns. Uvalde is in your district, and you champion the bipartisan, Safer Communities Act, which was put in place after the Uvalde massacre. So why is it that schools in your district are being denied grants that they were supposed to be given under this law?
REP. GONZALES: Yeah, Margaret, I was one of 14 Republicans that voted for this Bipartisan Safer Community Act, because it would have prevented the Uvalde shooting and since that has become law, it has prevented at least 300 similar Uvalde shootings. What is happening though, is it’s passed into law and the money isn’t making it down to the schools. I represent 119 cities and towns in the district, I- I’ve visited over 100 of them, we got a dozen of them to apply for these grants, zero of them were awarded–
(CROSS TALK)
MARGARET BRENNAN: — Why?
REP. GONZALES: — So it can’t be because- I had a discussion with the Attorney General on this. And- and to his credit, you know, we’re working together on it. There’s a couple of things. One is, honestly the money is just not going to the places it needs to go. That’s one. Another area is a lot of times these rural communities- I’ll give you a brief example Marfa, Texas, small West Texas community, they have four police officers. If they were to get this grant, it would take them from four to five. They were ecstatic about it. They stayed up until 11 o’clock filling out this grant the best they could. So a large part of that is- is getting the help they need. The grant writers, if you will, that’s why it was so important to partner with Camilla and- and Matthew McConaughey on these Green Lights Grants initiatives. It’s a perfect example of where private and public partnership can come together and help these not only rural communities but also larger communities fulfill these grants.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Understood and thank you, Congressman, for your time today. Face the Nation will be right back. Stay with us.
