Veronica Escobar, candidate for Texas Congressional District 16 representative
Name: Veronica Escobar
Age: 57
Party: Democratic
Occupation: U.S. Representative for Texas' 16th Congressional District
Relevant Experience
I was born and raised in El Paso, and I have spent my career serving this community. Before coming to Congress, I served as an El Paso County Commissioner and County Judge, where I worked to expand health care access, strengthen county services by cleaning up after historic corruption, and deliver for working families.
Since 2019, I have represented El Paso in Congress, having served on the Judiciary, Armed Services, and Ethics Committees from 2019 to 2024 and now serving on the House Appropriations Committee. During my tenure in Congress, I have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for El Paso for water infrastructure, public safety, veterans services and healthcare, transportation, economic development, and much more. I have also led efforts to improve our land ports of entry, bring a new veterans clinic to the area, and advance commonsense immigration reform. I protected Castner Range, working with the White House and local advocates to get a national monument designation (something that had been elusive for El Paso for over 50 years), and worked with DHS and our local community to prevent three warehouses in Socorro from being used for immigration detention.
My experience in both local and federal government gives me a firsthand understanding of how Washington decisions affect El Paso—and the experience to make sure our community has a strong voice in Congress.
Personal
Veronica Escobar is a third-generation El Pasoan who has dedicated her career to fighting for the community that raised her. From the classroom to local government and now the halls of Congress, Veronica has spent her life working to expand opportunity, strengthen public institutions, and ensure that El Pasoans have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
Before being elected to Congress, Veronica served as an El Paso County Commissioner and later as El Paso County Judge. During her time in county government, she helped modernize and reform county operations, expanded access to healthcare, and worked alongside local leaders to establish El Paso Children’s Hospital—the only children’s hospital on the U.S.-Mexico border.
In 2018, Veronica made history as the first woman elected to represent El Paso in Congress and one of the first two Latinas from Texas to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since taking office, she has built a record of delivering results for El Paso while becoming a national leader on immigration, gun violence prevention, healthcare, reproductive rights, veterans’ issues, and economic opportunity.
Veronica has fought to bring federal resources home to strengthen El Paso’s infrastructure, create good-paying jobs, support local schools and healthcare providers, and invest in the region’s future. She has also led efforts to advance humane, responsible immigration reform, protect patients and healthcare providers, support military families, and strengthen oversight and accountability in government.
Veronica knows that progress takes persistence and that the work is never finished. She is running for reelection because El Paso deserves a proven leader who understands our community, delivers results, and will keep fighting for a stronger, more prosperous future for every family.
If you are elected, what are your priorities for El Paso?
My priorities are rooted in what I hear from El Pasoans every day: making life more affordable, strengthening our economy and making it work for all of us, fighting the brain drain by making El Paso an advanced manufacturing hub, and making sure El Paso has a strong voice in Washington.
I will continue fighting to lower costs for working families, protect Social Security and Medicare, expand access to affordable health care (fighting for healthcare for all), and invest in good-paying jobs and workforce development. I will also continue advocating for the infrastructure El Paso needs—from modernizing our ports of entry and transportation systems to improving water infrastructure and protecting our environment.
And I will continue securing federal investments that directly improve life in El Paso. In the most recent appropriations cycle, even as a member of the minority party, I successfully secured over $15 million for local projects supporting water infrastructure, public safety, transportation, economic development, and other community priorities.
You can read more about my platform at VeronicaEscobar.com/issues
What’s your position on birthright tourism?
Even though existing federal regulations already address this issue, the Trump Administration has sought to make this yet another “red meat” culture war issue as a way to distract from the disastrous economy created by Republican policies, the illegal war in Iran, and the devastating cuts from the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Donald Trump raised this as something to focus on after the Supreme Court struck down his attacks against birthright citizenship, which is a constitutional guarantee.
We should be able to distinguish between enforcing immigration and visa laws and undermining the constitutional rights of children who are born here. I will always support a secure border, a modern and orderly immigration system, and the Constitution.
What legislation have you introduced that’s important to El Pasoans?
I have introduced legislation on many issues that directly affect El Pasoans, particularly because our community has unique needs as an underresourced, military, and binational community. Here are but a few examples:
The Trusted Traveler Program Transparency Act is one. Thousands of El Pasoans rely on programs like SENTRI and Global Entry to cross the border for work, family, and commerce. My bill would require Customs and Border Protection to provide clear written explanations when someone’s trusted traveler benefit is denied, suspended, or terminated and establish a standardized appeals process.
And because El Paso deserves federal infrastructure that matches the importance of our community, I introduced the El Paso Air Traffic Control Tower Modernization Act to support replacing the aging air traffic control tower at El Paso International Airport, and the El Paso VA Medical Center Activation Readiness Act to ensure the VA is fully prepared to open the El Paso VA Medical Center on time and on budget.
I have also continued working on immigration reform through the bipartisan Dignity Act - the only bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in the House in over a decade – because El Paso deserves an immigration system that is secure, orderly, humane, and actually works.
I’ve also introduced the Mount Cristo Rey Protection Act, Nutrition Continuity for Military Families Act, DHS Community Consultation Act, Military Spouse Employment and Childcare Readiness Act, Streamlining Military Infrastructure Act, VA Home Loan Navigator Act, JROTC Power Act, and so much more.
You can read about others I’ve championed at escobar.house.gov/issues.
What are your plans to ensure transparency and make sure you are accessible to constituents?
Accessibility and accountability are fundamental to how I serve El Paso. I believe elected officials work for the people who sent them to Washington, and that means listening to constituents.
My office will continue holding community events, like in-person and tele-town halls, meeting directly with groups, organizations, and individual constituents, and maintaining an accessible district office where El Pasoans can get help navigating the federal government. My office also provides casework assistance to constituents dealing with federal agencies, and our team works directly with agencies to help resolve those issues.
I have lived in El Paso my entire life, and when I am not in Washington working on committees and voting during legislative periods, I am home, working and meeting with the community.
You can learn more about where I’ve held town halls and other community meetings here: https://escobar.house.gov/about/our-district.htm
What makes you the best candidate?
It's been a privilege to serve El Paso, and I'm proud of my record, experience, and my lifelong commitment to our community. I've delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to our community, providing resources for our veterans and active-duty service members (including the new $700 million VA clinic), law enforcement, local governments, healthcare organizations like University Medical Center and Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, and so much more. My work with private sector partners to build a defense/advanced manufacturing hub right here in El Paso will help transform our economy, and advancing the protection of Castner Range as a national monument has protected a community gem. These are just a few of the examples of the tangible, transformative projects and investments that I've delivered to help our community.
But I have also always believed that serving El Paso means being a strong voice for our community. I'm tackling the big issues that are important to my constituents: immigration reform, holding tech companies (data centers) accountable, working for universal healthcare, protecting and expanding Social Security, and fighting for hard-working El Pasoans and individuals being crushed by the current state of the economy.
There is still much work to do. Strong Congressional representation is important - understanding what the different levels of government do is fundamental to public service, as is understanding how the federal government works. The ability to move legislation and get funding to our community is rooted in strong relationships with fellow legislators, as well as a seniority system that delivers more powerful committees and responsibilities as that seniority is earned. I’ve worked hard to build those relationships and earn the powerful committee assignments that help our community. I'd be honored to have the opportunity to continue that work on behalf of all El Pasoans.
