WASHINGTON -- After saying he would attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, Brownsville Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela reversed course Thursday because he says dozens of migrant students from his district were harassed in Washington.Vela said in a prepared statement that he had hoped the inauguration would be “a moment of healing and outreach,” but two developments Wednesday left him with “no choice but to boycott the event.”First, 40 migrant students from his district who were visiting the nation’s capital allegedly faced derogatory comments, which Vela said came from inauguration attendees who called the students “beaners,” “burritos,” and “wetbacks.” One student was even spit on, Vela said.Then reports emerged, confirmed Thursday, that Trump would nominate former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to be his agriculture secretary, meaning there the Cabinet would have no Hispanic representation for the first time in decades.“Mr. Trump’s repeated acts of disrespect for the 33 million Americans of Hispanic descent are historic in modern times,” Vela said. “The hope that his actions as President would not match his political rhetoric is becoming more and more of a distant dream."One would think that an American President in the 21st Century would be dedicated to eradicating racism once and for all," he added. “However, Mr. Trump has turned a blind eye to overt racism. Indeed, in many instances, Mr. Trump himself has stirred the seeds of bigotry. This is an ominous sign for the future of the American Presidency and the United States of America.”In the heat of the presidential campaign over the summer, Vela made headlines when he sent a fiery open letter to Trump calling him a racist and telling him he could take his proposed border wall and “shove it up your [expletive].”Vela’s announcement makes him the fourth member of the Texas congressional delegation who plans to skip Friday’s inauguration. Democratic Reps. Al Green of Houston, Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and Lloyd Doggett of Austin have also said that they will not attend the ceremony.The Texans join a group of at least 69 House Democrats from 26 states that have said they will boycott the inauguration. The vast majority of the decisions came after Trump engaged in a feisty spat with Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon.After Lewis said Friday that he does not consider Trump a “legitimate president” and announced plans to boycott his inauguration, Trump took to Twitter to lambaste the Georgia Democrat.“Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "All talk, talk, talk -- no action or results. Sad!"Rep. Marc Veasey announced Thursday that he will attend the inauguration “to support the Democratic tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.” But the Fort Worth Democrat said he will be wearing a pin out of solidarity with Lewis and his colleagues who will not be there.“My attendance at the Inauguration is meant to serve as a reminder to the President-Elect that as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, my colleagues and I constitute a co-equal branch of government,” Veasey said in a prepared statement. “From the day Donald Trump is sworn into office, I will assert that power and represent the interests of my constituents and their concerns.” Continue reading...
Fourth Texan in Congress Will Boycott Inauguration, Claims Migrants Were Harassed
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