Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico says the church he grew up in once housed illegal aliens who were facing deportation by federal immigration authorities.
The comments, first reported by Fox News, came during a 2023 appearance by Talarico on Texas Impact’s Weekly Witness podcast.
Asked how his faith influenced his political career, Talarico pointed to a history of progressive activism at his church.
“Our church was really active in LGBTQ rights in the ’90s. We caught some attention by letting an atheist join our church in the 2000s, and then in the 2010s, again stirred some controversy by housing an undocumented family, a mother and son, who were close to being deported by ICE,” said Talarico.
“That was the tradition that I was brought up in,” he continued. “It’s what led me to teach public school students on the west side of San Antonio, led me to run an education nonprofit and then led me to run for office.”
Talarico then described Christianity as “just another word for causing trouble.”
During the same interview, Talarico criticized what he called “Christo-fascism,” accusing the religious right of using Christianity to exercise political power.
Asked for examples in Texas, Talarico pointed to Republican-backed policies involving the Ten Commandments in public schools, school chaplains, school choice, restrictions on gender-mutilation procedures for minors, and the state’s abortion laws.
The resurfaced comments come as immigration and border security remain major issues in Talarico’s U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Talarico’s campaign has maintained that he supports stronger border security and immigration enforcement.
Paxton, meanwhile, has argued that Talarico’s record in the Texas Legislature contradicts his current support for stronger border security.
“He has fought everything related to our border, every single vote,” Paxton said during a campaign rally in San Antonio over the weekend.
Paxton pointed to Talarico’s opposition to state border security measures, including efforts to create a state border protection unit and allow Texas law enforcement to arrest illegal border crossers.
“What does he say now? ‘I’m for the border. I’m for securing the border,’” said Paxton.
In a statement to Texas Scorecard, Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy similarly accused Talarico of misrepresenting his record.
“James Talarico hates Christianity, and he’s said it. In Talarico’s form of Christianity, you must be trans, you can’t support the oil and gas industry, and you have to let in every criminal illegal immigrant seeking asylum,” said Cercy.
“His comments are consistent with a career spent siding with illegal immigrants over the safety and security of Texans. He voted against securing our border and opposed allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest those who cross illegally.”
“Texans deserve a Senator who will secure our border, enforce our immigration laws, protect our children, and put American citizens first, not someone who lies about his record,” she added.
Talarico’s church has previously drawn scrutiny during the Senate campaign. The library at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, where Talarico attends and preaches, includes several sexually explicit and LGBT-themed books that have been challenged in public schools, including “Gender Queer”, “All Boys Aren’t Blue”, and “This Book Is Gay”.
Texas Scorecard asked Talarico’s campaign whether he believes churches should house illegal aliens facing deportation or otherwise assist them in avoiding removal by ICE. The campaign did not respond before publication.
