In the News
MCALLEN, RGV – The crisis is not at the border, but in the Central American countries; most of the drugs go through international bridges, and 67 percent of the people who are illegally in the United States entered with a legal permit such as visa.
These were some of the key points made by U.S Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Vicente Gonzalez D- McAllen, at a news conference about border security. The event came a day before President Donald Trump insisted, during his State of the Union address, that a border wall needs to be built to address a "crisis" at the border.
U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, has co-sponsored a resolution that would work to reimburse federal contractors' lost wages, according to a news release.
In his efforts to put whole again federal employees impacted by the recent government shutdown, Gonzalez is promoting House Resolution 824, which would provide back pay of up to $1,400 per week for affected people, including at least 35,000 federal employees in Texas.
WASHINGTON - Congressman Vicente Gonzalez today announced his new position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 116th Congress.
"We can no longer afford to simply witness pressing issues taking place around the globe, and in our own backyard, without taking proper action to safeguard our country's sovereignty and integrity," Congressman Gonzalez said. "I am excited to work with Chairman Eliot Engel and my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to take back the reins, and promote stability, safety, success, and security around the world."
WASHINGTON - Congressman Vicente Gonzalez has relocated the Edinburg, Texas District Office to McAllen, Texas. The new office is located at 1305 W. Hackberry Avenue.
"I am honored to continue serving the great people of the Rio Grande Valley with our new office in McAllen, Texas," Congressman Gonzalez said. "I encourage every resident of the 15th District of Texas to visit one of the five district offices in Central and South Texas for assistance with federal agencies. We always have coffee available – come on in if you need some help with the federal government."
WASHINGTON – Texas border region Congressman Vicente Gonzalez left a White House meeting on the 26-day-old government shutdown Wednesday questioning President Donald Trump's grasp of border issues, calling his comments "crazy" and "irrational."
He also reported zero progress in Trump's meeting with a half-dozen Democratic members of the bipartisan "Problem Solvers Caucus."
"He has not gotten off the notion of physical structure," Gonzalez said about Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for border wall construction in 2019. "He seems to be dug in pretty deeply."
Don't mess with Texas' hurricane relief funds.
That was the message 23 Texas lawmakers sent to President Donald Trump on Tuesday in response to recent reports that his administration is considering using money meant to fund disaster relief and flood mitigation projects to secure the southern border.
WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) introduced the This Land Is Our Land Act to prohibit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Department of Defense from constructing any new border barriers, including walls or fences, on federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior.
President Trump is scheduled to visit McAllen on Thursday to address what he called the crisis at the southern border, which comes amid attempts to persuade the nation of the need for a border wall, the sticking point in negotiations with congressional Democrats that led to a government shutdown.
WASHINGTON - Congressman Vicente Gonzalez today issued the following statement following media reports that President Donald J. Trump will be visiting the U.S.-Mexico Border, potentially McAllen, Texas.
"It has come to my attention that President Donald J. Trump intends to visit the U.S.-Mexico Border on Thursday. Let me remind the president that McAllen, Texas, a border city, has experienced some of the lowest crime rates in 30 years.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Soon after being sworn into office for the 116th Congress, the three U.S. Representatives for the South Texas border region voted for legislation that would end the partial government shutdown without funding a border wall.
The bill passed by 239-192, with five Republicans joining every Democrat in supporting the measure.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the way, calling the border wall an affront to American values. "A wall is an immorality. It is not who we are as a nation. We are not doing a wall," Pelosi told reporters.