(Texas Scorecard) -As the November presidential election approaches, the border crisis continues to be a top issue for many voters.
According to a recent study by Pew Research Center, 61 percent of voters reported that immigration is very important to how they will vote this November. This figure is nine percent higher than it was during the 2020 presidential election and represents a 13 percent increase from the 2022 congressional elections.
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs convened on Monday to discuss the federal government’s role in securing the country’s border.
“What I do know is that the federal government has failed to secure the international border with Mexico,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw stated in his testimony.
McCraw also said that he is hopeful the federal government will step up. “There’s no infrastructure to support the millions of people that were apprehended in Texas. And those are just the apprehensions,” he continued.
The fate of Texas’ border with Mexico hinges largely on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith told Texas Scorecard that how Americans vote in November will be the difference between four more years of crisis or taking steps to secure the border and end violent cartel activity.
“They are not staying here,” Smith said in regards to illegal border crossers. “They are moving through. They’re headed to the major metropolitan areas of Texas, and they’re headed across the United States.”
Meanwhile, Texas is taking action to handle criminal cartel activity. Gov. Greg Abbott announced late last month that individuals who provide information leading to the arrest of known or suspected members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang would be rewarded up to $5,000.
“Tren de Aragua has spread terror and carnage in every country they’ve been in, and Texas will not allow them to gain a foothold in our state,” he said.
“With the public’s help, combined with the hard work of federal, state, and local law enforcement, we will capture these dangerous gang members and put them behind bars for good,” the governor concluded.