Flores running to reclaim her old seat in Texas' 34th Congressional District
Support for Biden in border region crumbling as crisis benefits illegals over Americans: Texas' Mayra Flores
President Biden's support in the heavily Hispanic border regions of Texas is crumbling as the migrant crisis continues to worsen and benefits illegal immigrants over American citizens, former Republican congresswoman Mayra Flores said.
EXCLUSIVE: President Biden's support in the heavily Hispanic border regions of Texas is crumbling as the migrant crisis continues to worsen and benefits illegal immigrants over American citizens, former Republican Rep. Mayra Flores told Fox News Digital during a recent interview.
Flores, who is running to reclaim her former seat in Texas' 34th Congressional District from Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, warned that as "thousands and thousands" of migrants continue to pour into America's border towns, crime is rising and the sour economic conditions facing the country are taking a harder toll on U.S. citizens living in those areas because money that could be used in local communities are instead being spent on the masses coming into the country.
"This is the poorest area in the nation and yet the funding is being used for the humanitarian crisis. And we're not getting that money back for the people of South Texas," Flores said. "If this issue is hurting New York tremendously, the biggest city in the country, and the mayor of New York says it's going to destroy New York, well, what makes them think that small little towns here in South Texas can withstand thousands and thousands of migrants crossing illegally every single day?"
Noting the eye-popping number of migrants coming into the country in a single day, Flores said crime is also rising because of the criminals taking advantage of being able to join the floods of people crossing the border.
Former Republican Texas Rep. Mayra Flores and President Joe Biden. (Getty Images / File)
"Two weeks ago, I was in Brownsville with a group of 50 women that had voted for Biden in 2020. Not a single one is voting for Biden in 2024 – not one out of the 50 women," she said. "I asked [them], ‘Why are you not voting for President Biden in 2024?’ And they said, because of the economy – 80% said that the economy situation is what's moving them to vote Republican in 2024."
"But a huge majority also said because of the humanitarian crisis. They feel that the people that are coming in are being prioritized and not people that have been here for a long time. They're also Americans, but many of them have been here for 20, 30 years and feel that they're being ignored and that their needs are not being addressed," she said.
"People that are crossing illegally into our country are getting all the help that they need while [Hispanic voters are] struggling to pay their rent, bring food to the table, get to work every single day. Gas is very expensive. So, they're they're looking at that. And that's why they're moving every single day towards the Republican Party," she added.
Flores argued that it wasn't just the border crisis and its impact on the economy that has voters in the region shifting toward supporting Republicans, "values" matter as well. Citing Democrat threats to "parents that don't support gender ideology," she said fears that kids could be taken out of homes with parents pushing back against such policies is another big reason for the split toward the GOP.
Then-Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Aug. 5, 2022, in Dallas. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
She said many people to whom she spoke didn't know much about the Republican presidential race and the candidates vying for the nomination, that most of them were viewing the 2024 race as between Biden and former President Donald Trump.
"Every single one of them said that they were voting for [Trump]. Of course, they're supporting me, but they are also supporting him, even though some say, 'I'm not a huge fan. But when he was the president, we had a strong economy. And I remember being able to make ends meet every single month,'" she said.
When asked about Hispanic voters' attitudes toward Trump and whether their votes might be the deciding factor in a hypothetical matchup between Trump and Biden, Flores said she "absolutely" thinks Hispanic voters are going to give Trump the win.
"I really do believe that just because just in my district alone, I have seen overwhelming support towards him. And it's because they remember what it was like before Biden. They didn't know what would happen when they elected Biden, and now they do," she said.
Migrants wait in line to enter El Paso, Texas, under the watch of the Texas National Guard on May 10, 2023. (AP Photo / Andres Leighton / File)
Flores, who was defeated by Gonzalez in the 2022 midterms, said she decided to run again because she is "not done fighting for the people of South Texas."
"I love my community, and things are getting a lot worse than last year. I really didn't think that things were going to get worse, but things are getting worse, not just here at the border but also with the economy. And I just love my community very much. And I just can't give up on our community. And that's the reason why I will always continue to fight for this area," she said.
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If elected, Flores said, one of her main focuses would be on combating child sex trafficking and putting a stop to the U.S. being a top market for it.
"I want to change that. I don't want us to be a part of that list," she said. "I think it's important that we work together to end child sex trafficking. And it's something that I'm very passionate about."
Former President Donald Trump (Julie Bennett / Getty Images / File)
"Under this administration, they've lost track of 87,000 children. We don't know where these children are. And I want to focus on finding where these children are and send them back to their families, to their loved ones, and stop the trauma that many of them are going through right now and the abuse that they're going through," she added.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
