Rep. Mayra Flores, (R-TX 34th District), was rejected when she attempted to join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) earlier this month. The leading caucus for Latino members of Congress denied her because she is a Republican Townhall reported.
Flores confirmed the news on her Twitter.
“As the first Mexican-born American Congresswoman, I thought the Hispanic Caucus would be open in working together. This denial once again proves a bias towards conservative Latinas that don’t fit their narrative or ideology,” Flores wrote.
Flores represents a predominantly Latino district along the US-Mexico border. She is the only Mexico-born woman to be in Congress.
According to the CHC website, their purpose is to "address national and international issues and craft policies that impact the Hispanic community. The function of the Caucus is to serve as a forum for the Hispanic Members of Congress to coalesce around a collective legislative agenda."
Though CHC has not addressed their rejection of Flores, they did post a Tweet addressing “extreme Republicans” and their opposition to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program protects undocumented immigrants from deportation and a work permit if they arrived in the United States as children and meet other qualifications.
CHC said they need 10 Republicans in the Senate to vote with them.
Flores is not the only Republican to be denied access to an ethic Caucus. Congressman Byron Donalds was also rejected from the Congressional Black Caucus due to his political affiliation.