On Wednesday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued fresh border security guidelines.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been authorized by Abbott to implement a zero-tolerance policy for “unsafe” cars that may be used to smuggle migrants.
In reaction to reports that the Biden administration was busing migrants into Texas cities from the border, Abbott has also instructed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to charter buses to transport migrants to the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
As part of the governor’s border mission, the Texas National Guard is requesting an additional $500 million in funding from the state budget through the end of this fiscal year.
They discussed Abbott’s new border measures with Rebecca Thomas, the director of advocacy at Progress Texas and the CEO of JD Key Communications.
Governor Abbott said Texas would send illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C. so that the Biden administration can handle them. REBECCA:
ABBOTT: We’re taking them to the White House, where the Biden administration can better respond to the plight of the people they’re getting into the United States. They are the ones who have been loading these migrants onto buses and transporting them to San
Antonio on their own dime. As a result, I asserted that there was an alternative to busing these individuals to San Antonio. Let’s keep riding until we reach Washington, DC.
REBECCA: DPS troopers have been ordered to increase border vehicle inspections by Governor Abbott, and the Texas National Guard has requested an additional $500 million to cover the cost of the governor’s border mission until the fiscal year ends.
We’re joined by Progress Texas’s Diana Gomez and JD Key Communications’s James Dickey to discuss this topic. Both of you are greatly appreciated for coming.
DIANA: You’re welcome.
JAMES: You’re welcome.
REBECCA: James, the governor’s office, confirmed after he spoke yesterday that the migrants would have to volunteer to be bused to D.C. because he has an election to win, critics say he knew what he was saying, but said it nonetheless. Is there any truth to what you’re saying? What do you think about that?
JAMES: Of course, they’ll abide by the law, but the difficulty is that the federal government is partly to blame for this issue’s emergence. To be clear, the Border Patrol expects us to reach 18,000 illegal aliens crossing the border every day, according to their own predictions.
Every two months, the population of Austin grows by the equivalent of a new city. That is not a long-term solution. It’s too much for Texas to handle alone. The problem stems from Washington, D.C. In other words, all the efforts we can do to remind D.C. of its responsibility to fix the situation are positive things.
When discussing the border, should the governor be employing DPS troops as backdrops, which some have compared to a campaign ad?
Because he is an expert at political theater, he should not be engaging in this type of behavior. Also, it’s to hide the 25 years of Republican mismanagement that resulted in a scarcity of teachers, a broken foster care system, and a lack of solutions for the nation’s housing shortage.
All of these issues are genuine, and none of them can be solved by simply closing the border.
REBECCA: James, it seems like no one is discussing a solution to the immigration problem. Is there a common ground between the Biden administration and Abbott?
JAMES: I’m stumped. Problematic is that, during Obama’s tenure in office, the border problem was significantly solved, and it was further reduced until Biden took office, and in less than a year, he turned what was not an issue into the most pressing issue for Texans because we can see that 500,000 illegal immigrants per month are not a sustainable situation.
The Biden administration is to blame. So if they just stop being ridiculous and go back to what worked just two years ago, we can easily get to a common ground.
In response to Diana’s question, REBECCA responds: The final thought I’d want to share with you is this:
According to DIANA, Title 42 is a Trump-era policy that the Biden administration is correct in lifting from Ukraine or Central America. Asylum is a fundamental human right.
REBECCA: That’s OK. Diana and James, thank you so much for joining us tonight and sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
DIANA: You’re welcome.
JAMES: You’re welcome.
