July 7, 2021 1255 PM
Dear President Biden,
LULAC’s interest in law and order and protection of the lives of our citizens requires me to ask you to use your executive authority to stop the governors of Texas, Arizona, Nebraska, Idaho, Florida and South Dakota from deploying their resources to the U.S.-Mexico border. This is not a legitimate purpose for emergency or disaster assistance that the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), P.L 104-321 (October 19, 1996) authorized. In addition, in the case of South Dakota there is no authorization for a private citizen to defray the costs of deployment of National Guard personnel. This is tantamount to relegating our Armed Forces to a “pay for hire” status on any whim or desire that the donor citizen can afford to pursue and a governor sees as an opportunity to score political points. This is an insult to our veterans who served and women and men who are now serving in our armed forces. This is not how America protects our citizens, and it certainly is corrosive to our relationships with our allies around the world, especially our friend Mexico.
President Biden, as the commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and the militia of the several states, you have authority to prevent this usurping of federal powers by a few recalcitrant and rebellious states. If you cannot stop this additional insurrection, we request that you deploy federal troops to defend the rights and lives of Hispanic Americans on the border. It was two years ago that Hispanics were gunned down at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. There is ample time now to prevent loss of life and abrogation of citizen rights. We further ask that the attorney general take legal action to prevent these states from illegally militarizing the Texas-Mexico border.
We expect our national government to intercede and not allow the rhetoric of voices bent on increasing hate and violence in our communities. Efforts such as these contribute to the climate in America where gun violence and hate crimes have become rampant against Latinos and Asian Americans.
Please let me know what steps are being taken so our communities can be at ease. We need federal intervention now, to stop the militarization by words and start acting on the immigration issue.
Sincerely,
Domingo Garcia
LULAC National President
