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U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett in front of the State Capitol Building during the 2017 Womens March. Daily Record archive photo by Denise Cathey

Rep. Doggett answers our questions

Congressional Visit
Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Editor’s Note: Last week, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett stopped by the San Marcos Daily Record office to meet with staff and answer questions about current issues. This is Part 1 of Staff Reporter Robin Blackburn’s interview with Doggett.

BLACKBURN: Is there much of a divide among Republicans — if not officially, in front of the cameras, maybe behind the scenes — over (U.S. President Donald) Trump? And did the separation crisis at the border have anything to do with maybe changing that?

DOGGETT: Well, the separation crisis is, of course, truly outrageous. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that my office either in Austin or San Antonio isn’t involved on immigration matters and on some of the specific women who’ve been, particularly in Hutto, separated from their children. I think the policy did not happen by accident. It was purely a design to deter people from coming here by using the love that a family has for its members as a weapon. 

Mostly, Republican colleagues have been silent. Some have tried to create the impression that they were sympathetic to getting families back together, but doing so in a way that would get them out of the country as quickly as possible without legal counsel and without opportunity for a fair hearing. I’m convinced at this point that some of these children will never be reunited with their parents because this admin was so totally indifferent to their wellbeing. It was only concerned with deterrence, not togetherness. 

I think the whole family separation issue has been used a little like ransom, as our Dreamers have been — Dreamers here at Texas State and across the country — to get this totally unnecessary and wasteful wall. And we are still involved in that struggle and will be when we return in September. I think we need to continue focusing on family separation and trying to get the administration to do the right thing. I think in addition to family separation and the wall, the administration wants to focus on legal immigration. They already are. Some of their proposals are truly draconian. The notion that if someone who is here legally has their child immunized at a health clinic or they get free and reduced lunch, as every student would get here in the San Marcos district, that they would be deemed to be ineligible to get a green card is again just counter to everything our country has stood for and that the Statue of Liberty is all about.

BLACKBURN: You mentioned DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program). Do you have any insight on the future of that program? I know it’s been kind of a football for the past few months.

DOGGETT: Of course it was almost about this time last year when this was unnecessarily terminated. And if President Trump had any real interest in seeing the protection of these young people who’ve cleared a criminal background check and paid a fee and are contributing to our country, he would have gotten something in place before he terminated it. 

The only time that I have been to the White House — because I refuse to go to any social gatherings there — was on a tax matter from being the ranking member on the tax subcommittee. And at that meeting, I talked to him principally about Dreamers, because the president of Microsoft suggested that we should do Dreamers first and tax legislation later, and I really just got a lot of double talk back. I think that we will not see any action in this congress on Dreamers — we got relatively close on the discharge petition. Enough pressure was exerted to keep the so-called moderate Republicans from joining it. The only hope is the courts until we get a new congress. We will change the law on DACA for Dreamers when we change the lawmakers. 

BLACKBURN: Have you heard about the ICE van crash that happened here in San Marcos? 

DOGGETT: Well, uh, yes. I think this is the same one, where there was some denial that a crash had occurred. We were contacted about that and made inquiry for one of the people involved — not so much about the crash but about their situation. ICE is, I think, first turning over its policies for a great deal of latitude for individual agents. And depending on the attitude of the individual agent ... that was a problem earlier this year and last year under the administration, but now implementing the really cruel policies of the administration is a real problem. And I am, as I mentioned, in almost daily contact on one case or another because we can’t change the law in Washington to try to see that justice is done for those that are separated or those that are confined improperly.

San Marcos Record

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