Why is Eric Swalwell in Congress on the verge of tears about AI photos depicting Donald Trump holding a duck and a cat?
Well, let’s rewind a little bit.
Yesterday, videos from a townhall in Springfield, Ohio went viral. Residents in the town were expressing their dismay over the mass influx of Haitian migrants.
Enter Eric Swalwell, who couldn’t control his emotions over these pictures.
It is pretty insane that Swalwell would take time at a hearing about the border crisis, to whine about cat memes.
There were parents at this hearing who lost their children thanks to our reckless border policies.
And yet, Swalwell is almost in tears over funny pictures of Trump saving ducks on Twitter.
Yikes. Not a great look for President Swalwell.
Let’s hope he can persevere through this difficult time.
Read the written testimony from the victims here:
The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victim Perspectives
Written testimony submitted by Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, Ph.D.i
Affiliated Researcher, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
University of California San Diego
I. Our Shared Tragedies: Homicides, Disappearances, and Overdoses
Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Nadler, and Members of the Committee, thank you for
conducting this hearing and the opportunity to explain why characterizing the U.S.-Mexico border
as an area in crisis is an inadequate and unproductive way for addressing North America’s cross-
border challenges. I appreciate the invitation to participate.
I am an expert on organized crime and U.S.-Mexico security cooperation. As a scholar of U.S.-
Mexico relations, and as a proud resident of the border region, I am convinced that transnational
problems require transnational solutions.
Mexico and the U.S. recently celebrated 200 years of diplomatic relations and despite the myriad
ties that unite both countries, today Mexico and the U.S. find themselves unable to chart a path
forward. Worryingly, the urgency to save lives is fueling xenophobic discourses and reviving the
worst policy failures of the war on drugs. But we do not need to repeat past mistakes. The U.S.
and Mexico have robust evidence produced by the public sector, civil society, and academia on
how to acquire and maintain the health and safety of our communities.
The human costs of our shared tragedies cannot be overstated. Today, Americans are more likely
to die from an opioid overdose than a car crash.ii Equally important, homicide is the leading cause
of death for men ages 15 to 44 and the second cause of death for women ages 15 to 24 in
Mexico.iii Painfully, while families who have lost loved ones to overdoses or homicides may find
some degree of solace in visiting their graves, this remains a dream for the thousands of family
members who search for the more than 110,000 Mexicans who have disappeared.iv
Suffering on both sides of the border is inextricably linked. The U.S. is facing one of its worst
public health crises due to the availability of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and Mexico faces its
own lethal epidemic with 70% of homicides perpetrated with a firearm.v Adding insult to injury,
harm reduction providers along the U.S.-Mexico border must smuggle naloxone to save both
Mexican and American lives.vi The greatest tragedy of all is that all these deaths are preventable.
