Venisha Colon 
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
Tensions ran high between the crowd and a former congresswoman Tuesday during the Turning Point USA at UTRGV’s Prove Me Wrong event on the Edinburg campus.
In an effort to emulate former conservative commentator and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, former congresswoman Mayra Flores invited students and faculty to debate her on border security and more outside of the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship building.
The event drew a crowd and students lined up to take the microphone both against and in support of Flores’ positions. However, many students took to questioning her from the crowd.
When history junior Laela Ovalle asked if Flores would “pick and choose” who to give health care to, in regard to immigrants lacking permanent legal status Flores replied “When I’m in congress, I will vote against free health care for those who are illegally in the country.”
Ovalle further questioned Flores on how she felt about statistics that show immigrants lacking permanent legal status pay taxes in the United States, to which Flores responded, “They’re not.”
A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022.
In an interview with political science sophomore Madiam Cepeda who attended the event, said it “felt performative” and believed Flores came here not to understand but to argue.
When asked how she felt about the narrative that the Rio Grande Valley is becoming more Republican, Cepeda said she believed “A lot of working class people are being lied to by the Republican Party.”
Those in support of Flores had different feelings about the event.
English senior Lilliana Guerrero said while the tension was high, she felt like Flores is trying to help the Valley.
“But because she is Republican, people don’t want to hear it at all,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero said Flores’ strong stance in regard to illegal immigration shows her support for just making sure that everyone is safe.
Closing the event, Flores expressed her desire to come back to UTRGV and hold more events on campus.
Flores is running for U.S. House Congressional District 34. The Republican primary will take place on March 3, 2026.
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