--- title: Donald Trump: Congressman Filemon Vela Writes Open Letter description: A Democratic Congressman who told Donald Trump to take shove his border wall "up your ass" said he wanted to use "language he understands." canonical: https://time.com/4358784/donald-trump-filemon-vela-gonzalo-curiel-judge/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-06T19:40:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:00.245Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congressman Tells Off Trump 'In Language He Understands' og:description: "You can take your border wall and shove it up your ass," he wrote. og:url: https://time.com/4358784/donald-trump-filemon-vela-gonzalo-curiel-judge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee61ca96be5498b/6988969c5f570f7780b2138b/filemon-vela.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform and border security principles. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman Tells Off Trump 'In Language He Understands' twitter:description: "You can take your border wall and shove it up your ass," he wrote. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee61ca96be5498b/6988969c5f570f7780b2138b/filemon-vela.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congressman Tells Off Donald Trump 'In Language He Understands' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=64c49582-4867-49d4-8445-d77f2f81d86a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump? [Watch (HLS stream): A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Jq72wMzX.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2016-05-05. We're tracking Trump statements with Time's Presidential-o-Meter to see how "Presidentially Correct" he can sound._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 6, 2016 7:40 PM UTC  Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform and border security principles. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform and border security principles. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 6, 2016 7:40 PM UTC A Democratic Congressman who told Donald Trump to take his [“border wall and shove it up your ass”](https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/06/texas-democratic-congressman-tells-trump-shove-it/) in an open letter said he wanted to speak “in language he understands.” U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, who represents Texas’ 34th District, released the open letter in English and Spanish Monday morning, saying he’d reached a point where he had “had enough” of Trump’s tone on immigration and Hispanics. “I will not presume to speak on behalf of every American of Mexican descent, for every undocumented worker born in Mexico who is contributing to our country every day or, for that matter, every decent citizen in Mexico,” he wrote in the letter’s conclusion. “But, I am sure that many of these individuals would agree with me when I say: ‘Mr. Trump, you’re a racist and you can take your border wall and shove it up your ass.’” He told TIME Monday that the provocative language was very deliberate. “Usually, I’m very diplomatic,” he said. Trump’s criticism of Curiel has [drawn rebukes from fellow Republicans](http://time.com/4358239/donald-trump-republicans-judge/), even many who support his candidacy, while the White House has [sought to tie it to Senate Republicans’ delay](http://time.com/4358663/donald-trump-judge-gonzalo-curiel-white-house-supreme-court/) on filling a Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia. Vela was also bothered by the presumptive Republican nominee’s attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is handling the Trump University lawsuit. His father was appointed to the federal bench in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter and has a U.S. Courthouse named for him. “I owe a lot of who I am to my father,” Vela said. Since 2013, Vela has represented the southernmost tip of Texas in Congress. He drove from there to Washington, D.C., over the weekend with his wife and a staffer, giving time to reflect on what he wanted to say in the open letter. “It took a couple of days for it all to come together,” he said. ## Transcript So there have been reports that you've been getting pressure from your staff to act more presidential, is that the case? Do you need to act more presidential? No, no, not at all. We have had no pressure to act more presidential. The Trump administration will lead a free world. Sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a five year old. I didn't start it. That is properly armed and funded. Every parent knows a kid who says he- That's not a five year old. Excuse me, when I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end. Now I have a lot of friends, by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them. Did he choke? I would like to talk today about how to develop a new foreign policy direction for our country. We can't continue to allow. To rape our country. One that replaces randomness with purpose. Ideology with strategy and chaos with peace. Here's a guy, throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else. I'd like to punch him in the face. The countries we are defending must pay For the cost of this defense. We're gonna knock the **** out of ISIS. [ APPLAUSE ] Gonna knock the **** out of them. Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz have really, really hurt themselves. Somebody has to be where the belt's going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way. [ LAUGH ] It moves that way. We have won millions of more votes than Senator Cruz, a lying Ted, lying. He's a lying guy! I felt that I had to hit back very hard, but at the right time I will be so presidential you will be so bored. 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