A Republican Texas congresswoman is urging New York police officers to pack their bags and head to Texas, offering them a state free of “pro-criminal” politicians that backs the blue and can offer a better quality of life.
Rep, Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, has put out an ad in the New York Post urging police officers in the Empire State to “escape New York and move to Texas!”
In the ad, she cites the death of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller — who was fatally shot during a traffic stop last month — and says that she was “disgusted as one pro-criminal politician after another attempted to force themselves into the solemn remembrance of Officer Diller’s heroic career.”
She claims that the state is “purposefully anti-law and order” and officers face budget cuts from “Defund the Police politicians” while fending off illegal immigrant gangs and violent career criminals.
“It’s time for you to leave these loathsome and destructive folks behind. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK!”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Rep. Van Duyne said she was trying to convey how much “respect and heartbreak” there is across the country for what police officers are going through in New York.
“It feels like they’ve been abused, undermined, sold out by the politicians, the representatives who take the side of the criminals over the police and, quite honestly, over the citizens,” she said.
She contrasted that with reverence for law enforcement in the Republican state.
“We respect, we appreciate, and also I think we revere our officers for what they do week in and week out. It’s just one more reason why the Lone Star State shines brighter than the rest — we have a value for their professionalism and their commitment,” she said.
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She also said that their lives would be better in the southern state.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, walks down the House steps on Thursday, May 20, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“The quality of life is so much better in Texas, where we actually value individual freedoms, where we respect our officers, where we enforce our laws, recognizing that people want to live in safe communities,” she said.
Van Duyne told Fox that the ad would be worth it if it could convince even one police officer to move to Texas.
“I think if that officer just saves one life, takes one career criminal off the street, they can make that kind of an impact in North Texas that benefits everyone who lives there. And I think that’s an immeasurable improvement,” she said.
The campaign is similar to a move by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who launched billboards in other states to bring in law enforcement officers as part of a broader recruitment drive. His office said that the move brought in hundreds of recruits from all over the country.