Skip to content
Earlier this month, Texas State Representative John Lujan (R-San Antonio) announced his bid for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, which was just redrawn by the state legislature and is expected to flip from Democrat to Republican.
In his announcement, Lujan touted his experience as a state legislature and listed “fight[ing] for secure borders” as his first priority in Congress. However, any citizen reviewing his voting record on the issue of immigration and border security in the Texas House would be left with major concerns.
In Texans for Strong Borders’ recently-released 89th Texas Legislature Member Ratings, Lujan scored a 70 out of a possible 100, one of the lowest among Republican state representatives (only two Republican lawmakers scored lower).
A review of the specific votes leading to this rating help illuminate a troubling pattern that shows Lujan could be a problem in Washington if he is successful in his congressional bid.
Lujan was just one of just nine Republicans who voted for a guest worker bill authored by Rep. Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio) and coauthored by Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo). This legislation would have brought even more foreign laborers into the state after over 5 million illegal aliens entered the state during the Biden administration. Luckily, it failed to garner the votes to pass the Texas House.
Additionally, Lujan was the only Republican who voted against a Motion to Instruct offered by Rep. Mike Olcott (R-Fort Worth) telling House budget conferees to include his amendment tasking the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and Department of Criminal Justice to report to the public the cost of uncompensated care given and the number and cost of illegal aliens in our state’s prison system, respectively.
On the issue of putting American workers first, Lujan also fell short. He voted against an amendment by Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) to ensure only companies whose work force was made up of at least 75% U.S. citizens would receive grant money through a proposed Texas Technology and Innovation Program.
And although Lujan voted in favor of SB 17, a ban on the acquisition of Texas land by hostile foreign entities and individuals, he also voted for an amendment seriously narrowing the scope of the ban. (The amendment was later stripped in conference.)
Finally, Lujan voted to table two amendments by Andy Hopper (R-Decatur) to SB 243, a bill aimed at strengthening regulations on migrant labor housing facilities utilized for seasonal agricultural workers. If passed, these amendments would have given the Texas Attorney General the power to initiate an action to collect the civil penalty included in the bill and direct these funds toward the state’s border mission. Unfortunately, they were defeated with Lujan and a number of other Republicans voted with the Democrats to prevent their adoption.
In totality, this record on border security and immigration policy is anything but America First. Voters in the 35th Congressional District would be wise to inform themselves of Lujan’s record on these key issues for our state and decide if they believe he is the best their district has to offer.
Texas voters overwhelmingly support strong border enforcement and putting American workers first. Shouldn’t our elected officials do the same?