ANZALDUAS — Gov. Greg Abbott and nine other Republican state governors paid a visit to the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday, urging the Biden administration to return to Trump-era immigration policies.
The governors unveiled a 10-point policy framework that they called on the Biden administration to implement in response to migrant arrivals along the border.
Among their proposals, the governors called on the Biden administration to fully reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, resume construction of the border wall, the continued enforcement of Title 42, and deploy more personnel to the border.
“The governors insist that the Biden administration reinstate the effective plans that were put in place by President Trump,” Abbott said during the news conference. “We are going to act in his absence. Our constituents demand it, not just here in Texas.”
Abbott and his Republican peers once again criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the situation along the border, accusing the president of creating a “crisis” in the area and refusing to meet with the group of governors on the issues.
When speaking of the number of migrants attempting to seek asylum in the U.S., Abbott largely focused on individuals smuggling drugs into the country, including Fentanyl.
With the increase of Fentanyl being seized at the border, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey accused President Biden of fueling the opioid epidemic.
If Biden were not to enact those policies, Abbott said he would continue to escalate what the state has already done to respond, specifically in preparation of potential migrant “caravans.”
“As we’re gathering here today, the national guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety are getting ready to be able to respond to those caravans in ways that secure Texas,” Abbott said.
Last week, in response to the arrival of nearly 16,000 Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Abbott sent DPS and Texas National Guard to seal off the border by using law enforcement vehicles to create a barrier.
At the start of the news conference, Abbott addressed the school shooting that occurred Wednesday morning at an Arlington high school.
“We grieve for everyone who’s been harmed or affected by this in any way whatsoever,” Abbott said. “We, as a state, working with the local communities will do everything possible to ensure the shooter is quickly and effectively prosecuted.”
Still, Democratic leaders issued a statement criticizing Abbott for holding a “fear-mongering” news conference in the wake of the incident.
“With students and families reeling from an ongoing active shooting situation, Abbott had the gall to turn his attention to his own political gain,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. “He went right ahead with his latest fear-mongering, scapegoating press conference on the border, alongside 9 out-of-state governors who have no business meddling in the lives of Texas border residents.”
He also accused Abbott of wasting taxpayer money to score political points.
“Abbott is going to keep stoking anti-immigrant hate, making life harder for border residents, and advancing his political agenda on taxpayers’ dime until we vote him out,” Hinojosa added. “That’s exactly what Texas Democrats are fighting every day to do — because Texas has had enough of Abbott’s failed leadership and refusal to be responsible for the health and safety of all Texans.”
