The National Republican Congressional Committee has launched its opening salvo against California Democratic Representative Adam Gray, and the focus is precisely where it should be: immigration.
The facts here are straightforward. Gray voted to provide driver’s licenses to criminal illegal aliens. He voted against funding mechanisms designed to deport dangerous criminals from American communities. These are not minor policy disagreements. These are fundamental questions about whether elected officials prioritize American citizens or those who have violated our immigration laws.
Gray represents California’s 13th congressional district, which political analysts identified as one of the most vulnerable seats heading into the upcoming midterm elections. That vulnerability exists for a reason. When representatives vote to extend privileges to individuals who entered the country illegally, particularly those with criminal records, they create a record that rational voters find difficult to defend.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting efforts may have provided Gray some electoral cushion, but redistricting cannot erase a voting record. The NRCC’s new advertisement correctly highlights these votes, including one from over a decade ago. The temporal distance is irrelevant. If anything, it demonstrates a consistent pattern of prioritizing illegal immigrants over law-abiding American citizens.
Immigration remains a dominant issue for Republicans, and for good reason. President Trump’s return to office in January brought immediate action on border security after years of catastrophic policy under the Biden administration. The contrast could not be starker. Under Biden, millions of illegal immigrants poured across the southern border, straining resources, increasing crime in communities nationwide, and creating a humanitarian crisis that the previous administration simply refused to address with seriousness.
Trump effectively ended this massive influx, implementing policies that actually secure the border rather than merely talking about security while maintaining open-door practices. This is governing, not virtue signaling.
Some polling indicates that Americans’ approval of Trump’s immigration handling has experienced minor fluctuations since he took office. This is unsurprising and ultimately irrelevant to the broader point. Effective policy often requires short-term political courage. The question is not whether every decision polls well in the immediate aftermath, but whether the policy serves American interests in the long term.
Border security serves American interests. Deporting criminals who entered illegally serves American interests. Refusing to extend government benefits and privileges to those who violated our laws to get here serves American interests.
Gray’s record suggests he disagrees with these basic propositions. He voted to give driver’s licenses to criminal illegal aliens, a decision that raises obvious questions about public safety and the rule of law. A driver’s license is not merely a convenience; it is a government-issued identification document that facilitates numerous other activities and transactions.
The NRCC is correct to make this a central campaign issue. Voters deserve to know where their representatives stand on fundamental questions of sovereignty and citizenship. Gray’s voting record provides clear answers, and those answers should concern anyone who believes that American immigration policy should prioritize American citizens first.
The upcoming midterm elections will test whether voters in competitive districts like California’s 13th are satisfied with representatives who consistently vote to extend privileges to illegal immigrants while voting against measures to remove dangerous criminals from their communities. The NRCC is simply ensuring voters have the information necessary to make that determination.
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