Auchincloss Delivers Letter to Cruz: “What You Intend As A Threat, We in Massachusetts Consider A Promise”

Image of US Immigration Checkpoint (cropped) by Jonathan McIntosh from Flickr

Editor's Note: Westwood Minute takes no position on the issues raised below. The following article was submitted by the Office of Congressman Jake Auchincloss.

On Thursday, October 21, 2021, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04) responded to Ted Cruz’s “Border Bill” that would move immigrant processing centers to New England by hand delivering a letter to the Senator’s office . The letter stated, in part, “We have no patience in Massachusetts for your crass attempt to denigrate immigrants by implying that new ports of entry in the Commonwealth would undermine our support for immigration. From Plymouth Rock to today, immigrants have been building new lives in Massachusetts for 400 years. We welcome them.”

A full copy of the letter is reproduced below.

October 21, 2021

The Honorable Ted Cruz

U.S. Senator, Texas

127A Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C., 20510

Dear Senator Cruz,

I write to you regarding your recently introduced Stop the Surge of Unsafe Rio Grande Encampments Act. I appreciate your including Massachusetts among those states that would benefit from newly established ports of entry. What you intend as a threat, we in Massachusetts consider a promise—the promise of more immigration, which makes the Commonwealth richer both economically and culturally. We do not subscribe to scare tactics; we know the facts.

The fact is that areas with higher rates of immigration correlate with lower rates of violent crime and property crime. A study of arrest data from the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted by the National Academy of Sciences found that native-born Americans in Texas are more than twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes as are immigrants. Notably, the study incorporated data between 2012 and 2018, covering both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations. Non-immigrants are also two and a half times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes and more than four times more likely to be arrested for property crimes than their immigrant peers.

Not only do immigrants make our cities and towns safer, they also contribute to our economy, paying roughly $9 billion annually in taxes. Immigrants and their children founded 45 percent of our nation’s Fortune 500 companies, employing 13.5 million people. A humane, rules-based, and economically productive immigration system does not come “at the expense of American jobs and workers,” as you claim––instead, research from the Kellogg School of Management confirms that immigration creates jobs.

We have no patience in Massachusetts for your crass attempt to denigrate immigrants by implying that new ports of entry in the Commonwealth would undermine our support for immigration. From Plymouth Rock to today, immigrants have been building new lives in Massachusetts for 400 years. We welcome them.

Sincerely,

Jake Auchincloss

Member of Congress

Thanks to the Office of Congressman Jake Auchincloss for sharing this news with Westwood Minute.

For local news straight to your email inbox, subscribe to Westwood Minute's FREE email newsletter!

Community contributions to this platform of news, opinion, and events that affect Westwood and its surrounding area are welcome. Want to add to this discussion or start your own topic? Find out how by clicking here.