Our Line in the Sand: A Texas Rebellion Against Sin Vergüenza Politics by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Our Line in the Sand: A Texas Rebellion Against Sin Vergüenza Politics 

by 

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Astonishingly, there was no proposed, new Congressional map to weigh in on, no way to officially register support or opposition—at yesterday's sham hearing on Congressional redistricting. But that didn’t stop community members from showing up in force—and on short notice. All of this was set in motion by a Trump administration letter from the Department of Justice, seeking to use our state to add new members to the U.S. Congress based on 2020 U.S. Census numbers that are wholly accounted for by the phenomenal growth of the Hispanic/Latino population in Texas—measured in terms of bodies and not citizenry. There is so much detail to this, but the overall impact of what Trump and Abbott are trying to do is to disenfranchise both Black and Brown communities. Again. 

Here is a helpful write-up by authored by Klibanoff (2025) in the Texas Tribune titled Texans, Democrats condemn GOP redistricting plans at first public hearing, which gives you more context.

Gabriel Rosales, Gary Bledsoe, Angela
Valenzuela & Alicia Perez-Hodge

I was deeply honored to be on a panel with NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, LULAC State Director Gabriel Rosales, and LULAC Education Committee co-chair, Alicia Perez-Hodge, and myself. 

We all did a great job, but President Bledsoe was an incredible resource witness. I'll be posting his testimony soon, as well. However, you can scroll to the bottom to view the entire hearing for yourselves. Texans, as a whole, were very well spoken and profoundly concerned, if not anguished.

It was great having three members from Congress with us, namely, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, Congressman Gregory Casar, and Congressman Joaquin Castro, who spoke on just how wrongheaded this is for Trump meddling in Texas politics so that he can tip the vote in his favor in what he rightly sees as a serious forthcoming midterm election.

Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, Congressman Greg Casar, and Congressman Joaquin Castro - Redistricting hearing, July 24, 2025 

Without a doubt, yesterday was a powerful day for our community—a collective and resounding Texas-style rebuke of Governor Greg Abbott. Yet, whether the House Republican leadership is truly listening remains an open question—and frankly, not an encouraging one, given their track record.

As I’ve said before, cramming mid-decade redistricting, flood response, and a host of other contentious priorities into a 30-day special session is not just bad governance—it’s terrible optics (Abbott, 2025). Sin vergüenza, as we say in Spanish—a phrase far stronger than its English cognate, "shameless." And yes, we should all be that concerned.

This is a major story with deep national and international implications.

Greg Casar & me

 I’ll continue to post updates as this special session unfolds. To wit, this evening at 6:30 at the Delco Center, there is going to be a major rally this PM featuring Beto O'Rourke, Jasmine Crockett, Gina Hinojosa, James Talarico, Gene Wu, and others to rally against this agenda to disenfranchise even further our Black and Brown communities.

In my testimony, I urged legislators to reject the path of unos sin vergüenzas and to instead choose self-respect. I venture to say that some of the legislators even blushed. Many people offered similar testimony. The state needs to prioritize the public good over political gamesmanship, and to center the welfare of the people they were elected to serve.

Dr. Angela Valenzuela, Co-Chair,
LULAC Higher Ed Task Force testifies in opposition to redistricting

Gratitude to Texas Impact for posting my testimony. I post a link to the entire session hearing below, including a follow-up People's Hearing sponsored by House Democrats at the end of this post for those who unfortunately did not get a chance to voice their opinions. Altogether, this is a great record not just of how we in Texas, on very short notice, are protesting this further rigging of the process to consolidate Republican power at the expense of the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and democracy itself.

To our youth who may be feeling discouraged: Please stay involved. I know these are heavy times. We are standing at a crossroads—indeed, in a moment of deep crisis and collective sorrow in the wake of the devastating floods in Central Texas.

But I say this with love and clarity: democracy is not a finished product. It is always in motion, always under construction. And every generation must reimagine and work to strengthen it for themselves. That is where we are right now—with history pressing in, and the future asking something of us.

You matter. Your voice matters. And we need you more than ever.

References

Abbott, G. (2025, July 9). Governor Abbott announces special session agenda [Press release]. Office of the Governor of Texas. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-special-session-agenda-

Klibanoff, E. (2025, July 24). Texans, Democrats condemn GOP redistricting plans at first public hearing, Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/texas-redistricting-hearing-house-legislature-congress/

Texas Impact (2025, July 14). Texas Impact [YouTube] https://www.youtube.com/@texasimpact

Congressman Joaquin Castro & me

Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia & me