The Accountability Charge: Rep. Crockett Accuses GOP of Weaponizing Immigration Chaos as a ‘Feature, Not a Flaw’

Congresswoman Dismantles Fiscal Responsibility Claims, Citing $12.5 Billion Loss in Tourism and Misuse of National Guard Funds

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a congressional hearing ostensibly focused on waste, fraud, and abuse, Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) delivered a scathing, no-holds-barred indictment of her Republican colleagues, accusing them of intentionally allowing the immigration crisis to fester because “They don’t want to fix this.”

Crockett dismissed the hearing as mere “political theater,” a show designed to satisfy a “reality show president,” and strategically shifted the focus from political blame to measurable economic and moral costs. Her central thesis was that the “brokenness is a feature, not a flaw of the system because it is beneficial to them when it comes to campaigning.”

The Economic Reckoning: Tourism and Texas Transport

Crockett immediately targeted the economic impact of the heated anti-immigrant rhetoric, citing staggering figures related to national tourism. She secured confirmation that the atmosphere of hostility is causing measurable financial damage.

“Are you aware… that tourism in the United States is anticipated to decrease to the extent that we are estimated to lose $12.5 billion in international vendor spending in just the year 2025?” Crockett demanded.

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She shared her own concerns that scheduled FIFA games in Dallas were already facing problems as international visitors felt unsafe traveling to the U.S., emphasizing that the fear was generated by the “government that is making them feel unsafe,” not the immigrants themselves.

Crockett then attacked the Republican claim of fiscal responsibility by highlighting the misuse of taxpayer funds on political stunts:

Texas Transport Cost: She cited a cost of $221 million spent by the Texas Governor on transporting migrants to other states (like Illinois, benefiting Governor Pritzker), arguing the money could have been used more constructively.

LA ‘Riot’ Deployment: Crockett revealed the cost of deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles during what she termed the “quote unquote riots” was $134 million—a deployment she noted was not requested by the Governor or the Mayor. She further blasted the fiscal irresponsibility by alleging that service members sent there were not provided with adequate food and were “laying on the floor,” exposing a profound disrespect for the military members whose sacrifices Republicans often champion.

Selective Outrage and Moral Indifference

Crockett accused the Republicans of engaging in “cherry-picking” to stoke fear for campaign purposes. She condemned the hyper-focus on isolated crimes committed by immigrants, which leads to the narrative that “every single immigrant is going out and they are killers.”

She starkly contrasted this narrow focus with the committee’s inaction on major domestic threats:

“We didn’t have a hearing on Buffalo and what happened there. We didn’t have a hearing on El Paso and what happened there. We didn’t have a hearing on Charleston and what happened there.”

By listing mass killings perpetrated by white supremacists, Crockett forced the comparison, suggesting the selective choice of hearing topics was deliberate—a political calculation to avoid discussing threats associated with groups Republicans allegedly “love to pal around with.” She concluded that the primary motivation for this focus is to stoke fear so that “people are doing… voting out of fear.”

The Brokenness Is Intentional

The most potent line of Crockett’s confrontation was her assertion that the systemic failure is not accidental. She argued that the dysfunctionality of the immigration system is intentionally maintained because it is politically advantageous.

If the Republicans allowed the system to be fixed, she reasoned, they would lose the campaign issue that allows them to “stoke fear” and drive voter turnout. This failure of governance, therefore, is a strategic choice: the crisis is a feature, not a flaw.

Crockett’s surgical approach—using economic data and ethical contradictions—successfully stripped the partisan armor from the arguments, demanding accountability not for what lawmakers believed, but for the tangible, damaging consequences of their inaction and the cynical motives she ascribed to their legislative choices. The confrontation was a clear, uncompromising call for the political establishment to stop performing for cameras and start solving the urgent, costly, and dangerous problems facing the American people.