EXCLUSIVE: Talarico caught on tape giggling about his church housing illegal immigrants set for deportation

EXCLUSIVE: Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico bragged in a resurfaced interview that his church had stirred controversy by housing a family of illegal immigrants who were set to be deported by ICE, laughing as he said that “Christianity is just another word for causing trouble.”

Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian who serves as a Democratic state representative, is running against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a Senate seat that is critical to both parties.

In a resurfaced clip of Talarico speaking on Texas Impact’s “Weekly Witness” show in June 2023, he credited his faith for “why I am in politics.” Asked how his faith influences his politics, Talarico pointed to examples of his church advancing progressive causes, saying, “Justice is just love out in public.”

“Our church was really active in LGBTQ rights in the 90’s, we caught some attention by letting an atheist join our church in the 2000’s, and then in the 2010’s again stirred some controversy by housing an undocumented family, a mother and son, who were close to being deported by ICE,” he said. “That was the tradition that I was brought up in. It’s what led me to teach public school students on the west side of San Antonio, led me to run an education nonprofit and then led me to run for office.”

Paxton told Fox News Digital after a rally in Houston earlier this week that Talarico’s lead is “not surprising” given “we were three months behind” after his primary runoff against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

“We’re still three months out,” Paxton continued. “And I know that when we put our resources together, when we get there, we will be able to highlight things and once the voters know the real James Talarico, not the fake one that’s running right now … people will get to decide for themselves.”