North Cook News

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) says "white supremacy" and Republican members of Congress using the term "invasion" to describe the border crisis was responsible for a man in Brownsville, Texas, killing eight people with his sport utility vehicle. 

“That word 'invasion' is a word that I hear frequently in this committee room, in the U.S. Congress by Republican members referring to immigrants – asylum seekers," Ramirez said. "And these types of immigrant attacks have not stopped.” 

She referenced the investigation in Brownsville, saying “this dangerous and disgusting white supremacist rhetoric has fueled deadly violence again and again.”      

Greg Price, a writer with the  State Freedom Caucus Network, posted a video of Ramizez's comments on his Twitter account.

"Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) says 'white supremacy' and Republican members of Congress using the term 'invasion' to describe the border crisis was responsible for the man in Brownsville, TX killing eight illegal migrants with his SUV," Price wrote. "The suspect in that case was a Hispanic man."

 According to a KHOU report, the driver of a sport utility vehicle in in Brownsville ran a red light on May 7, lost control of the vehicle and flipped it, crashing into 18 people at a bus station across the street from a migrant shelter.

 Six of the people died at the scene, with two others succumbing to their injuries at the hospital, the station said. The remaining 10 people are in recovery. The driver was identified by Brownsville police as 34-year-old George Alvarez, who was arrested and charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault. He was held on a $3.6 million bond, the story said.

 Alvarez is a Brownsville native with a lengthy rap sheet, according to police, with multiple accounts of assault, burglary, theft, driving under the influence, and resisting arrest, KHOU reported. Videos show him having to be pinned down by people at the crash site to prevent him from fleeing the scene. All 18 of the people he hit appear to be men from Venezuela, with the community receiving an influx of migrants from the country in recent months. Police said Avarez was intoxicated at the time of the crash, and police are determining if the collision with the migrants was intentional.       

Ramirez represents Illinois’ Third Congressional District, which includes parts of Cook County.