Former Texas Democrat Blasts Washington Democrats’ Negligence Over Open Border Crisis at RNC Convention

• September 10, 2026

Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina in a blue suit and cowboy hat speaks passionately at a podium, raising his right hand with his index finger pointed upward. An American flag pin is on his lapel, and the background features a blue, starry pattern.

Texas Republican Congressional candidate, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina speaks on stage on the second day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas, Texas. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A South Texas county judge running to flip a key House seat shined a light on why he switched to the Republican Party during his speech at the Republican National Committee’s Midterm Convention on Thursday.

Tano Tijerina, who served as Webb County judge from 2015 until launching his congressional campaign, attributed President Donald Trump’s decisive action on border security to what he described as Washington Democrats‘ inaction, including the inaction of his political opponent for Texas’ 28th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar.

“I used to be a Democrat,” Tijerina said. “My family was, my neighborhood was. It was like a religion.”

However, the county judge argued that he “didn’t leave the Democratic Party.”

“The party left me. It left my faith, it left my family, it left the working people of South Texas,” Tijerina continued. “I was living the open-border crisis every single day while Washington Democrats, including our own congressman, Henry Cuellar, stood by.”

Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, it is estimated that around 20 million illegal aliens entered the United States through the southern border.

“They abandoned us, they opened our border, they turned their backs on our communities, and they chose to be quiet. Just keep voting the way you always have. …Well, South Texas is done being taken for granted.”

“[Trump] stood for South Texas values, he secured our border. And for that, our border community will forever be grateful,” Tijerina added.

“So, in 2024, I came home to where my heart already was. I became a Republican,” the candidate exclaimed.

Under the Trump administration, many illegal aliens have now been deported for state and federal crimes, and a record-low number of illegal aliens have crossed the southern border.

Pedro Rodriguez | Journalism Fellow

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a journalism fellow at the Daily Signal.

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