Texas's Moral Failing

Ramiro Hinojosa, former infantry sergeant and writer for the Dallas Morning News, has written a scathing commentary,titled 'Denying help to refugees is a moral failure for Texas', criticizing the Texas decision to back out of the refugee resettlement program. He opens with a first-hand account of a personal experience with a refugee. He explains how this boy fled from Baghdad to America at a young age, only to wind up returning to Iraq in 2016 to fight as an American soldier and interpreter. This former refugee went above and beyond the call of duty not only as an interpreter, but also as a soldier. Hinojosa writes, "...he did not turn his back on his adopted country; he served it with honor." He goes on to accuse Gov. Gregg Abbott of having "...cowered to the political winds..." with the decision to pull out of the resettlement program. He asserts that this is a "...moral failing to turn our backs on those refugees seeking solace from a hellish existence for which we, as a country, are partially responsible..."

Hinojosa argues that this withdrawal "does nothing to address the supposed security problem he (Abbott) cites as a concern." Hinojosa claims that Abbott used these safety fears not for the betterment of Texas, but rather to benefit his fundraising. I would have liked to see some more information on this but his detailing stops there. He does however provide a link to an Austin American Statesman article quoting Abbott as using the withdrawal as a fighting point to get donations for his campaign. Hinojosa goes on the to also accuse Abbot of "...in addressing a perceived problem, Gov. Abbott has created a very real one." Quoting the Texas Impact Interfaith leaders, he explains that the decision would "siphon precious nonprofit and faith-based resources..." He explains that without the federal funding that the resettlement program offered, "...our state leaders have shifted the burden to school districts and health facilities and nonprofits..."

Hinojosa offers some light through all of this darkness by mentioning that "...Texans have stepped up He explains that nonprofit volunteer numbers have increased despite the attempted fear mongering. Again, he doesn't provide very much evidence of this, but goes on to comment on how Texans have always been "...a caring and welcoming people." He ends the article writing, "We like to boast about our accomplishments in Texas, and we should be able to brag about outsized levels of compassion, too."

Overall I agree with Hinojosa, that our government has let us down by focusing more so on political gains than on supporting Texas. I feel like he very strongly made his feelings on the matter clear, and the tone of his writing, I believe, would strike a chord within any Texan. His intended audience is very obviously all Texans, as this decision will affect all of us. I think he could have used a bit more evidence with his arguments though. A lot of this article is pure emotion, and I think some rational evidence to back up these emotions would benefit the underlying message.