Tony Gonzales, Texas GOP lawmaker, calls immigrants ‘lifeblood of our country’ in challenge to Trump

Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose district runs along the southern border, called immigrants the “lifeblood” of the U.S. in response Sunday to comments made by former President Donald Trump that they’re “poisoning the blood of our country.”

While drawing a contrast to the Republican presidential frontrunner’s comment at a rally over the weekend, Mr. Gonzales also said the record flow of illegal border crossings has created “anger” toward all immigrants.

“I think immigrants are the lifeblood of our country, and it’s important that we have immigrants. I’ve been a proponent of legal immigration and what this open border crisis has done, it’s put legal immigrants to the back of the line,” Mr. Gonzales said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”

“It’s encouraged illegal immigration, and it’s created this rhetoric, and it’s created this anger. And it’s not just former President Trump. In my district, people are angry,” he added.

Senate lawmakers are negotiating southern border policies as part of an emergency foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Republicans want to clamp down on the stream of illegal migrants while Democrats have resisted policy changes.

“All throughout the country, people are angry and seeing all this chaos. It’s why it’s so important that the House, the Senate and the president come together and find a real solution,” Mr. Gonzales said. “[We need] a national security package that takes care of our allies, also protects us at home, not only from foreign threats, but also internal threats, because the anger is very real.”