Momentum Builds in RGV Against Border Walls and Deportations

On the heels of a lively weekend of action against the border wall, momentum is building in the Rio Grande Valley against the agenda of hate and division of the Trump administration.

Two important votes took place Tuesday night at the city level. Weslaco voted to oppose the border wall while McAllen voted to condemn SB4, the law that subjects localities who do not fully participate in deportations to stiff penalties.

McAllen is the fourth municipality in the Valley to formally oppose SB4, while Weslaco joins Brownsville and the County of Hidalgo in their opposition to border walls.

Weekend of action

The votes come after hundreds participated in two actions over the weekend rejecting border walls. One thousand people converged in Mission Saturday to protect La Lomita Chapel and other spaces along the river that would be walled off under current border wall plans. On Sunday, close to seven hundred people formed a line of humanity along the levee in Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge that Trump wants to turn into a border wall.

McAllen and Weslaco weren’t the only cities to see action at city meetings this week. Mission residents attended that city’s meeting Monday evening to ask the council to build on the weekend’s success by passing a resolution against the wall. In Alamo, dozens of residents attended Tuesday night’s city commission meeting to speak out against the wall and SB4.

Momentum growing

The momentum shows no signs of slowing. Wednesday evening, Valley residents will gather in McAllen to learn how to pass more border wall resolutions. SB4 is expected to be on the agenda of the August 22nd meeting of the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, and Mission and Alamo are expected to take up the border wall issue at city meetings the week of August 28th.

Our community is energized and sending a loud and strong ‘no’ to the politics of hate and division of the Trump administration. But our ‘no’ to the wall and SB4 is a simultaneous ‘yes’ to community, home, friendship and connection with place. We are standing up for the community that we love, and we are defending what makes America great: inclusivity, opportunity, and recognition that our differences make us stronger.

Join the meeting tonight in McAllen to learn how you can get your city to pass resolutions against the wall and SB4.