James Talarico

So if you want to come and pick our fruit, if you want to pack our meat, if you want to pave our highways and build our buildings, then we need your help because we are a growing country and we have a growing economy and immigrants are the fuel that keeps that fire burning.

But what people are seeing and what people are upset about is the fact that we have no idea who some of these people streaming in over the border are and what they mean to do.

And I just think most Americans can't wrap their head around why is it that we can't have an orderly

process that keeps everybody safe, both native-born Americans and migrants and immigrants, hiring more immigration judges, relieving the visa backlog, reforming our asylum system.

All of these things are ways that we could create a system that welcomes the stranger and keeps us all safe at the same time.

For some reason, Americans and Texans, they look at one party, our party, as pro-immigrant and anti-security.

Then they throw us out.

They get Donald Trump and his party.

It is pro-security, anti-immigrant, and they hate that too.

So most people want us to hold both of these values at the same time, and I think it's actually really possible.

Not an expert on the National Democratic Party, but I will say just from my observations, being in a red state, someone who flipped a Trump district and was able to build this kind of coalition, our national party is pretty condescending to people.

Here's an example.

You always hear this, especially if you, you know, are out on the coasts.

You know, why do all these people vote against their material interests?

You've heard that before, I'm sure.

Such a condescending thing to say to somebody.

It's actually like they don't know how to make decisions for their own lives.

They don't know what they need.

People have many interests outside of material interests.

There are some very wealthy Democrats who vote against their material interests on a regular basis.