Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) has released an official congressional advertisement, paid for through his House office rather than his campaign, promoting what he calls the “real results” he has delivered for Starr County.
In the ad, Cuellar says: “This is Congressman Henry Cuellar. In Congress, I’ve been working hard every day to deliver real results for Starr County by making our roads safer, supporting our schools, expanding access to affordable health care, giving law enforcement and veterans the resources they need, and ensuring strong border security, and I’ll keep working hard while keeping our taxes low so Starr County continues to prosper.”
The advertisement carries a disclosure reading, “Paid for by the Office of U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar.”
Under the Members’ Congressional Handbook, “ordinary and necessary expenses related to advertisements are reimbursable,” but ads must follow federal law and House disclosure rules under the Communications Standards Manual. The handbook requires members to disclose the funding source within any television or radio ad, offering members a choice of three approved disclosure lines, including one naming the member’s office directly.
Campaign Signs in Escobares
The ad comes weeks after video obtained by Breitbart News appeared to show a City of Escobares public works employee installing Cuellar campaign signs in Starr County while a marked city Public Works truck sat nearby.
Texas law bars municipal employees from knowingly using public funds or city equipment to distribute political advertising. The Texas Ethics Commission has said that using “government resources for an individual public servant’s private campaign purposes would be a misuse.” Neither the City of Escobares nor Cuellar’s campaign responded to requests for comment.
Family Legal Trouble in Webb County
Cuellar’s brother, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar, has been indicted alongside Assistant Chief Deputy Alejandro Gutierrez on federal charges alleging the two misused sheriff’s office employees, equipment, and supplies to run a private disinfecting business. Prosecutors say the business landed a $500,000 school district contract and relied largely on county personnel and resources. Both men face up to ten years in prison if convicted, and Martin Cuellar also faces a money laundering charge that carries a potential additional ten-year sentence.
A Shifting Stance on Immigration
Henry Cuellar has recently criticized the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement after previously faulting the Biden administration’s border policies. In March, he said, “There were people that didn’t like what Biden did with open borders,” but added, “we’re not talking about open borders now.” He objected to “the aggressiveness of ICE” targeting workers who “don’t have criminal records” and “have lived here for a long time,” criticized Republican efforts to keep “building border walls” even as border crossing numbers had dropped, and called tariffs “a hidden tax” on consumers.
2024 Indictment and Pardon
Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted in 2024 on federal bribery charges alleging they took more than half a million dollars from an Azerbaijan-linked energy company and a Mexico City bank. Cuellar denied any wrongdoing. In December 2025, President Trump granted the couple full and unconditional pardons, saying the prosecution had been politically motivated and tying it to Cuellar’s criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies.
