Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair accuses Texas Republicans of silencing Latino voters with redistricting plan

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) accused Texas Republicans of silencing Latino voters with their proposed redistricting plan in a letter first obtained by The Hill on Friday. 

In a letter addressed to Cody Vasut, chair of the Texas Committee on Redistricting, and vice chair Jon Rosenthal, Espaillat described the new congressional map proposed by Texas Republicans as “a blatant power grab that undermines democracy and silences Latino voters.” 

Espaillat specifically noted that in Harris County, where Latinos make up 46 percent of the population, Texas Republicans have slashed the Hispanic voting age population in the 29th Congressional District from 65.5 percent to 43 percent. 

“Across the state, Republicans are using surgical precision to redraw  maps and erode minority voting strength,” Epaillat wrote. “The goal is not fairness, it’s submission—to  Trump, to extremism, and to a toxic political agenda that enriches the powerful while working families, children, seniors, and veterans are left behind. This redistricting scheme would be more at home under a dictatorship than in a functioning democracy.” 

Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) presented the letter while testifying in the Texas state House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting. 

Espaillat’s letter comes as the committee is gearing up to vote on the proposed House map, which would create five additional House districts President Trump won by double digits in November.

President Trump had called on the state’s Republicans to redraw the lines to protect the party’s 219-212 House majority in the 2026 midterms.