Gov. Greg Abbott spoke extensively about securing the border Friday evening at a campaign stop in Collin County, where he endorsed incumbent Rep. Matt Shaheen for Texas House District 66.
Abbott’s time at the rally was primarily split between backing Shaheen’s re-election bid and discussing the unlawful migration crisis at the southern border.
The governor expressed concern over the current state of border security, pointing out that the situation has deteriorated since President Joe Biden took office. He claimed that the United States had the most secure border in 40 years before the Biden administration assumed power and said the administration’s policies have sent a message to the world that the “American border is open, and the federal government will do nothing to stop it.”
“The result has been predictable,” said Abbott. “There have been record after record after record [numbers] of illegal immigrants crossing the border.”
Abbott explained that the largest city in Texas by population is Houston, with a population of just 2.2 million people. “Two years ago, more than the number of people in Houston, 2.3 million people were apprehended coming across the border illegally. This past year, there were 2.4 million people coming across the border illegally. We had had more than two Houstons coming across the border illegally in just two years. This shows the magnitude of the problem that we are dealing with,” he said.
The governor argued that Biden has access to the same resources former President Donald Trump had, stating that laws and legal tools are already in place to address the problem. As such, Abbott asserted that Biden does not need more taxpayer money from Congress to secure the border.
“There are two laws. One … gives [Biden] the power to deny illegal entry to anybody trying to come into the country illegally. As opposed to enforcing that law, [Biden] aids them in crossing the border illegally and then aids them as they move about the country,” he said.
The second law Abbott contends Biden has at his disposal is “the requirement by Congress to detain anybody who crosses the border [illegally]. Opposed to detaining them, [Biden] gives them parole, allowing them to go anywhere in the United States of America.”
Abbott said that Biden has ignored and chosen not to enforce the laws passed by Congress. Because of this, along with the dangers associated with the sheer volume of people coming across the border, some of whom are drug cartel members or known terrorists, Abbott maintained that the situation “triggers … [a] clause in the United States Constitution: Article One, Section 10, Clause 3. This gives power to the state to declare an invasion of our border.”
“When the United States Supreme Court issued a decision, which really was nothing more than an administrative act about sending the case back to the federal Court of Appeals, everyone talked as if the Biden administration could suddenly start tearing down the razor wire walls that we built. There was a lot of uncertainty. I felt a need to make sure that my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans knew exactly what was going on and exactly what Texas was doing and why we were doing it,” explained Abbott.
“I have declared an invasion on our border,” said Abbott. “When the federal government does not do its job as required by law, Texas has a right of self-defense, and we are going to use it.”
Abbott spoke about the situation in Eagle Pass, noting that thousands of unlawful migrants would cross every day and be held in a field. The governor said he decided this had to stop, and the federal government should not be in control of managing unlawful migration in the city.
Since Texas has taken over Eagle Pass and the Texas National Guard wired it up, the results have been dramatic, Abbott claimed. “Literally three, four, sometimes 5,000 people would cross that area daily. The numbers from yesterday [show that] there were a total of three people who crossed that border,” he said.
Abbott praised the thousands of guardsmen who continue to assist in securing the border. According to the governor, the Texas National Guard has already laid out over 100 miles of razor wire. In addition, guardsmen are now adding anti-climbing barriers that include razor wire to strengthen the border further.
Additionally, the governor spoke about “the wall.”
“When Trump left office, a lot of that wall was lying on the ground. We seized as much of that as we could, and we are putting it up,” said Abbott. “Texas either has built, or we have it under construction, more miles of a border wall than Trump was able to put in the state of Texas.”
Abbott also spoke of the orange buoys designed and created by the Border Patrol to deter unlawful entry. “Joe Biden said they were not going to use them. So, we talked to the Border Patrol, and Texas began to use them — we deployed them to the Rio Grande. Joe Biden sued us,” he said.
As to the lawsuit, Abbott said, “This case is still tied up in court, but as we gather here in Collin County tonight, those buoys remain in the Rio Grande River. … We are continuing the fight.”
The crowd cheered as Abbott stated, slowly and deliberately, “We. Will. Not. Back. Down. From. Joe. Biden.”
