HOUSTON, Texas–The House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA), fell from a 34 point lead to defeat after reports of illegal immigrant children flooding into South Texas and being kenneled like dogs in federal facilities. Cantor’s internal polling showed him up by 34 points just days before the primary where he lost by a margin of 11 points to Tea Party challenger Dave Bratt.
Photos released by Breitbart Texas in an exclusive story by Managing Director Brandon Darby clearly showed that the teasing of a potential amnesty deal was leading to a flood of children crossing illegally into Texas in hopes of a future amnesty. The loss by Cantor will likely end any discussion of immigration reform by this Congress for the remainder of this session according to an article in National Journal.
Fox News reports this is the first loss of a sitting House majority leader in a primary election in U.S. history. Fox News also reported that in the closing weeks of the race, “Bratt argued the seven-term congressman’s support for legal status for children who have illegally entered the country fueled the problem of children from Central America pouring across the southern border, creating a humanitarian crisis.” Darby’s released photos caused the issue to escalate across the country drawing attention from news outlets across the world including a featured story on Huffington Post.
Sean Hannity, speaking on Fox News Tuesday night called the loss a “political earthquake.”
On the Breitbart News Big Government site, Tony Lee called the primary loss by Cantor “A referendum against amnesty.” In his article, Lee said, “In knocking Cantor off and shocking Washington and the GOP establishment, voters in Virginia’s seventh congressional district may have killed amnesty legislation in this Congress.”
The National Journal article quoted above said “The issue of immigration policy drew heightened attention on Fox News and conservative talk radio in the past week after news reports documented a surge of undocumented children arriving at the United States border, overrunning processing centers and the Border Patrol.” Cantor’s response last Friday was to double-down on his amnesty position by suggesting he could work with President Obama to allow a path to citizenship for some children of illegal immigrants already in the country.
At the Republican Party of Texas state convention in Fort Worth last week, Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) who is thought by many to be considering a run for House leadership next year, spoke to Breitbart Texas about his reaction to the photos that were revealed in Darby’s article. “Every time someone talks about legal status and amnesty,” Gohmert said, “it causes a rush on the border and it creates the situation that Breitbart has been reporting on where all these kids come here unaccompanied, because they know they’re going to get amnesty at some point.”
Gohmert concluded, “Because all this talk about amnesty for kids, as Breitbart has been reporting, it is simply getting worse and worse at our border. It is immoral and outrageous that we would be drawing kids to their detriment.”
MSNBC reported “Brat’s criticisms gained traction after reports of nearly a thousand of migrant children stranded at the Arizona border made national headlines.” Breitbart Texas’ Kristin Tate reported earlier today about the worsening conditions of the children being warehoused in Arizona.
Fox News Political Contributor Carl Cameron said, “This is a bad night for the establishment,” on the Sean Hannity Show.
Breitbart Texas has announced a Border Security and Public Corruption Tipline. If you have information that is in contrast to the information being released by DHS, you are encouraged to call or email Brandon Darby, Managing Director of Breitbart Texas. The number for you to call is 877-204-2033 or you can email Darby via bdarby@Breitbart.com.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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