Cisneros On Immigration

We hear very little from former San Antonio Mayor and HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, but in his time, he was among the tallest of Texas Democrats with a bright future before him.

Given that the world hasn’t heard from Cisneros in a while, I was rather surprised to notice an entire Associated Press story over the weekend dedicated to some of his remarks on immigration:

Former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros says the United States has the right to secure and seal its borders, but he warned it should be done with “a sense of humanity and human rights.”Cisneros, the former U.S. housing secretary under Democratic President Bill Clinton, made an impassioned speech on the subject Friday during the Bilateral Immigration Forum.

“I believe in immigration,” he said. “I have used religious words in this regard. It is the salvation of the American future.”

Cisneros cited personal reasons behind his stance. His grandfather came to Texas from Mexico to escape persecution during the 1910-17 Mexican Revolution.

Cisneros also had some harsh words concerning sending the National Guard to the border:

The United States has a right to define its borders and to define who comes in and has the right to seal the borders if it chooses, Cisneros said.

“But it should do so with a sense of humanity and human rights. Securing the border should not end in the death of people. They are not criminals. They are responding to the push-and-pull realities. There should be some reasonableness because people’s lives are in danger,” he said.

Cisneros warned that sending National Guard troops to support the Border Patrol may end up being a tragic mistake because the National Guard is not trained to guard the border.

“Just sending the National Guard without specific training for that purpose is dangerous. Border security needs to be proper and effective and not waste people’s lives on either side,” he told the forum.

Check out the story and give it a read.

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