Texas Gov. Greg Abbott slammed for calling shooting victims 'illegal immigrants'

NBC News ^ | 05-01-2023 | By Suzanne Gamboa

[Responsibility2nd]

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called the victims of a mass shooting in Texas over the weekend "illegal immigrants," drawing searing backlash for "dehumanizing" them.

Abbott announced on his personal and state Twitter accounts a $50,000 reward for the gunman who used an AR-15 rifle to kill five neighbors execution-style, including a 9-year-old boy, in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday night. The gunman was still at large as of Monday afternoon.

Abbott, a Republican, said the reward was for a fugitive "who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants."

The post drew immediate backlash on social media from critics and a "community note" that adds context from readers who said the original tweet is misleading. The note said that at least one of the victims was a legal resident of the U.S., and added their names.

~snip~

“It’s below the dignity of the governor to impugn the victims of a mass shooting" about their legal status," said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "All of the victims are Latino and so is the suspected gunman. This is a tragedy that involves another serial killing and a weapon for war that was used in the killing. That’s the issue, not the legal status of the victims."

~snip~~

Maritza Wong, a volunteer with Texas Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for stricter gun laws, said: “The first statement out of Greg Abbott’s mouth is to turn this tragedy into a dog whistle. Meanwhile our governor refuses to make the most basic changes to Texas gun laws that would make our families safer and every day he does so he is abdicating public safety.”

[TribalPrincess2U]

They sure hate the truth!

[TribalPrincess2U]

MSM identifies as MORONS!

[packrat35]

The truth is...if they were in their home countries instead of being illegally here, they might still be alive.

[moovova]

"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott slammed for calling shooting victims 'illegal immigrants'"

Well, there right. He should've called them "dead illegal immigrants".

[Hambone 1934]

Actually they are CRIMINAL IMMIGRANTS.....

[caww]

"All of the victims are Latino and so is the suspected gunman. This is a tragedy that involves another serial killing and a weapon for war that was used in the killing. That’s the issue, not the legal status of the victims."

Typical Latino covering for all the illegals in th US.

[Vaduz]

Illegal Immigrants = Not Legal Immigrants

Gosh that wasn’t so hard to understand.

[caww]

How many of those here are assisting bringing more of their people over our border?...Map is 2020...so the increase of Hispanic and Latinos is not included since 2020....lagal and not.

[montag813]

4 of the 5 were confirmed illegals, plus the shooter. ONE of the victims provided ID to a reporter claiming a green card.

[Eagles6]

So, an illegal alien, illegally in the country, uses a rifle that he illegally possessed, to illegally murder 5 illegal aliens and the first thing these chuckleheads want to do is disarm law abiding American citizens.

[immadashell]

With an open border it will be easy enough to cross into Mexico, most likely already there.

Suppose Mexico wants to build a wall to keep them from coming back?

[Bernard]

I thought the correct term is “illegal aliens”. Has that wording been changed without an official announcement?

[boxlunch]

We are required to call people what they are not, if they say so.

We are not allowed to call people what they actually are.

We are living in a very large insane asylum. Or maybe we went through the looking glass without realizing it.

[Feckless]

“Truth is treason in an empire of lies” - George Orwell

[tomkat]

‘Wetback Invaders’ works for me.

[1Old Pro]

Suppose Mexico wants to build a wall to keep them from coming back?

And we'll most likely pay for it.