Mayra Flores, First Mexican-Born Member of US Congress

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Flores was born in Burgos, Tamaulipas in a humble context. When she turned 6, her family moved legally to the United States and later she gained citizenship at the age of 14. Her parents moved several times within the country, but Mayra spent most of her time in the Rio Grande Valley and graduated from San Benito High School and South Texas College. During her early years, Flores worked along with her parents in the cotton fields in Memphis, TX to obtain extra money for clothes and supplies. In various opportunities, Mayra has mentioned she will always be grateful to her parents for allowing her to grow up in the United States of America and for accomplishing the American Dream.

In terms of her education and career, Mayra graduated in 2014 as a Respiratory Care Practitioner to help the elder and disabled patients with respiratory issues.  She then worked on the front lines helping patients with Covid 19. However, Mayra decided to go on with her studies and graduated with a bachelor’s in organizational leadership at South Texas College. She also plays an important role at the Hidalgo County GOP Hispanic Outreach as Chair, supporting Republican initiatives. It is worth highlighting that Mayra was educated by her parents with conservative values, but despite their support for the Democratic party, her views inclined towards the Republicans because of her anti-abortion perspective.

Flores announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Texas’s 34th congressional district after Democratic representative Filemon Vela Jr. confirmed in March 2021 that he would not look for reelection in 2022. Her campaign focused on targeting Hispanic and Latino Americans and their second thoughts about the Democratic party that they had traditionally supported in South Texas. Flores, in her early thirties and mother of four, won in the special general election on June 14, 2022.  But Mayra is still not done with her last political achievement and will run for re-election to the U.S House to represent Texas’ 34thCongressional District on November 8, 2022.

Mayra mentioned in a recent interview, how she was raised with “strong conservational values that focused on faith, family and hard work”. Her victory was represented by 51% of the vote against her democratic opponent 43 %, in the special election.  Her campaign addressed the issue of border security and was grounded on her strong belief that everyone can earn the American Dream. “We need a legal immigration system that works — not what we have going on here every day in the district,” she said concerning the flood of migrants entering the southern border daily. She mentioned that Hispanic voters see themselves as Americans, while Democrats see Hispanic voters as an ethnic voting bloc. “Because of that they felt entitled to our vote,” Flores said. “The problem is they do not represent our values of faith, community, work ethic or the desire to seek better opportunities.”

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Regarding the November 2022 re-election, Mayra mentioned: “Nothing is impossible when you work hard. We have it in us and we’re going to work hard to earn everyone’s votes. And I’m confident that we’re going to win that reelection in November because no one will be able to outwork us,” she said.  Overall, the new Mexican-born member of the US Country has a deep desire to give back to the country that has given her so many opportunities while helping children earn the American Dream