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MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) – State lawmakers in Austin began the process of redrawing Texas' congressional map.

It comes after President Donald J. Trump says he wants the Texas Legislature to draw the Congressional map in a way that will help Republicans pick up five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of the midterm elections. That has many Democrats and some Republicans worried as public testimony has begun.

Longtime Texas Senator Judith Zaffirini, who represents a part of Starr County, says the move is ridiculous.

“I don’t really believe this is a partisan issue from the perspective of Texans," Zaffirini said. "I believe it is the demand of a president who is trying to increase the number of republicans in Congress at the expense of Texas republican incumbents.”

Redrawing Congressional maps usually happens every 10 years after the latest census count. However, state legislators must now deal with the issue during the special legislative session that began this week, and large divisions can be made in the Rio Grande Valley counties.

“It begins with Cameron County and divides Cameron County into two, and then each district moves northward," Zafirini said. "Then, it moves to Hidalgo County, divides Hidalgo County into two, and both districts go northward. Then, it moves to Starr County, and both districts go northward.”

In a letter, State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, who served as vice chair of the Senate redistricting committee in 2021, says the current map was expected to remain in effect until 2030. He hopes people voice their thoughts to the Texas Legislature in person or virtually this weekend.

In the letter, Hinojosa considers the redistricting process: "This move is a clear expression of a raw political power grab.”

“Although there is no official map just yet, there are over 110 submissions so far from the public.

“They can speak out, they can testify, but they will likely be limited to two minutes, so the best thing they can do is organize and organize presentations, so you have a series of witnesses each of whom has a two-minute part of a presentation that is bigger in scope," Zaffirini said.

ValleyCentral reached out to local republican leaders but did not hear back.

Lawmakers will review the map after hearing from the public this weekend and Monday.

Zaffrini expects the first official map to be released a week later.

“I intend to vote against redistricting because I think it is untimely and unfair to republicans, democrats, and independents," the state senator said. “And, I also believe it will have unforeseen consequences on incumbents trying to do a good job and challengers to incumbents who are trying to replace them.”

People can join Friday morning's virtual meeting by clicking here.

All other meetings can be found here.