Lance Gooden, U.S. Congressman representing Texas’s 5th district since 2019, has used his social media platform to criticize Democratic policies related to immigration enforcement and public health. In a series of posts on March 23 and March 24, 2026, Gooden addressed issues including the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sanctuary city policies, mask mandates, and voting laws.
On March 23, Gooden posted: “If Democrats don’t want ICE in airports, reopen and fund DHS. If Democrats don’t want ICE in their cities, end sanctuary city policies. If Democrats don’t want ICE to wear masks, stop threatening to dox agents. It’s that simple.”
Later that day, he continued his criticism regarding election security by stating: “Democrats say, ‘Illegal voting is already illegal.’ By that logic, we should abolish laws, locks, and law enforcement. We must pass the SAVE America Act because pretending a problem can’t happen is not the same as preventing it!”
On March 24, Gooden referenced pandemic-era health measures while criticizing border policy: “The party that forced healthy Americans to wear masks, stand six feet apart, and get vaccinated was letting illegal aliens with serious diseases pour into our country. Think about that for a moment.”
Gooden has represented Texas’s 5th District in Congress since replacing Jeb Hensarling in 2019 and previously served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. He has maintained strong electoral support over multiple cycles; for example, he won the general elections against Ruth Torres in 2024 with over sixty percent of the vote as well as previous victories against Tartisha Hill (2022), Carolyn Salter (2020), and Dan Wood (2018).
