By TX3DNews Editorial Staff | Opinion | April 22, 2025
Nobody in McKinney, Plano, Allen, or Princeton wants an MS-13 gang member moving in next door. Let’s be clear about that from the outset.
We all support strong, fair enforcement of immigration laws. That’s not a partisan issue—it’s basic common sense. But what Rep. Keith Self posted yesterday on his official X account wasn’t about protecting the public or improving policy. It was about provoking outrage and racking up attention.
On April 21, Rep. Self tweeted: “This poll has to be devastating to Sen. Hollen and other DeMS-13 members,” in response to a CNN video that, as he correctly noted, showed that a majority of Americans support enforcing U.S. immigration law. But instead of using the data to invite a serious conversation, he used it as a springboard to suggest that his political opponents—and by extension, anyone who doesn’t agree with his exact framing—are aligned with MS-13 gang members.
This is Rep. Self’s playbook: distort the conversation, exaggerate the stakes, and paint anyone who criticizes the Trump-era approach to immigration as being in league with criminals. It’s the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that doesn’t inform—it inflames. And it has no place in a district as the one he represents.
Let’s be absolutely clear: no Democrat, Republican, Independent, Latino, immigrant, or native-born citizen in our district is defending MS-13. No one is suggesting we turn a blind eye to criminal behavior. What we’re talking about is whether the government must prove its case before it strips someone of their rights. That’s not defending gang members. That’s defending the Constitution.
The real concern isn’t over whether dangerous individuals should be removed from the country. Of course they should. The concern is about process. Can the government label someone a terrorist or a gang member, and deport them, without giving them a fair hearing? Can it detain or deport a person based solely on suspicion or association, without evidence or trial?
When people in our district—many of whom come from immigrant families—raise these kinds of questions, they deserve serious answers, not cheap shots. But Rep. Self didn’t offer answers. Instead, he leaned into the kind of rhetoric that conflates fairness with weakness, and criticism with criminal sympathy.
In his framing, if you don’t blindly accept the government’s word—if you dare to ask for proof or due process—then you’re siding with criminals. That kind of logic is dangerous, not just to immigrants, but to all of us. Because if we allow government authority to go unchecked, it’s only a matter of time before the wrong people are targeted.
Let’s repeat it for emphasis: no one wants MS-13 living next door. That’s not what this is about. This is about whether we, as a nation and as a community, still believe in the rule of law. In courts. In evidence. In innocent until proven guilty. In the idea that everyone deserves their day in court—especially when what’s at stake is their freedom, or their ability to remain in this country.
And this isn’t the first time Rep. Self has chosen sensationalism over substance. He quoted a known Nazi propagandist during his campaign—and then did it again during a congressional hearing. He misgendered a transgender member of Congress on the House floor, not as part of a policy debate, but as a deliberate political jab. Time and again, he’s shown more interest in grabbing headlines than in doing the hard work of governing.
Now, he’s using public opinion polling—not to discuss solutions—but to suggest that anyone who questions the process is somehow in bed with violent criminals. That’s not policy leadership. That’s performance.
And sadly, it works—when we let it.
Cities like McKinney, Princeton, Plano, and Allen are filled with people who believe in the American promise. They came here for opportunity, work hard, pay taxes, raise families, and trust that the rule of law applies equally. They know the difference between a legitimate policy debate and a political smear job.
When we elect someone to represent us in Washington, we expect them to reflect those values—not undermine them. We expect leadership, not stunts.
So the question we need to ask—across party lines, across neighborhoods, and across communities—is this:
How much longer are we going to tolerate this kind of representation?
Because if we don’t speak up, if we don’t demand better, then we’re not just letting Rep. Self’s behavior slide.
We’re validating it. And TX-03 deserves better.
U.S. Census QuickFacts: Collin County, Texas
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/collincountytexas