El Paso Councilwoman Claudia Rodriguez, who has come under fire from Democrats attacking her reelection bid after her challenge to Mayor Oscar Leeser to declare the border situation a local disaster, said on Newsmax Sunday that Leeser is still refusing to answer questions about what it will take for him to determine the situation is an emergency.
"Just last week, we had a rush by Venezuelan migrants, and they were attacking our Border Patrol agents here in El Paso," Rodriguez said during Newsmax's special election coverage Sunday. "I have asked [the mayor] a bunch of times…what's a good number for you? What is that number that we need to get for you to declare a local state of emergency?"
Meanwhile, El Paso is left footing the bill for immigration, as "we essentially loan out the federal government $8 million from our general fund, interest-free, of which we've only been paid back about $2 million," said Rodriguez. "In the future after the elections, this is probably going to get a lot worse. We're probably going to go back to using general fund money."
The immigration situation, she added, is a "federal issue, and it should not be our responsibility."
She added: "We are in charge of streets and parks and public safety, and all of a sudden we're having to deal with the migration issue. Local money is going to this as well. And state money. It's just not fair for the taxpayers in Texas."
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