IRVING — Gov. Greg Abbott said that Texas and the White House were in a “literal war” over the southern border during a speech on Friday.
Speaking to a packed room at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention Awards Luncheon in Irving, Abbott claimed, “The crisis at the border has never been greater. However, remember that just four years ago, we had the lowest number of illegal border crossings in 40 years.”
Abbott said such low numbers were achieved as a result of the remain-in-Mexico policy, Title 42, the end of catch and release, and the progress made in the creation of a border wall.
“When Joe Biden took office, he eliminated all those policies, and he sent a message across the entire world that the border of the United States is open,” he said.
Abbott noted that around 2.4 million people entered the country unlawfully in the past year.
“In each of the past two years under Joe Biden, we had [a number of unlawful migrants equal to the population of] Houston, Texas, come across the border who [weren’t] apprehended,” he said. “That is completely unsustainable, and that’s exactly why Texas has taken measures that no state has ever taken in the history of the United States to try to do something to secure the border. And in doing so, we literally are at war with the White House, fighting to secure our own border.”
Noting the effectiveness of the various deterrent measures deployed by Texas, such as walls and concertina wires, Abbott suggested that migrants were crossing unlawfully into New Mexico and then traveling into El Paso.
“So as we sit here, not only are we building the border barriers between the border of Texas and Mexico … Texas is building border barriers between Texas and New Mexico,” Abbott said.
Referencing the border security items on his special session call, the governor said, “We don’t rest on our laurels, and we’re not satisfied with where we are. We know there’s always more that can be done.”
He also discussed the buoys placed in the Rio Grande.
“Contrary to what the Democrats said, these buoys do not have chainsaws on them, and they don’t have cutting devices on them, but, consistent with what border control said, the buoys are completely effective at denying the ability to cross,” Abbott claimed. “So we deployed those buoys in the Eagle Pass area.”
“You would think Joe Biden would maybe thank me in a thank you note, send me a check or something like that,” the governor continued. “What he sent to me instead was a lawsuit that shows the war that we are in. The name of the lawsuit is United States of America v. Greg Abbott.”
“I will fight that fight!” he declared as the room erupted in applause.
While Abbott and other politicians in Texas have pointed to the Biden administration as responsible for the scale of unlawful migration, federal officials are blaming Congress.
“President Biden has called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform since his first day in office. As a result of Congress’ failure to enact the reform, the Administration has been using the limited tools it has available to secure the border and build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system while leading the largest expansion of lawful pathways for immigration in decades,” reads a press release from the Department of Homeland Security.
Recently, the Biden administration also appeared to switch course by waiving federal laws in order to expedite the construction of sections of border wall, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
