Texas "redoubling" efforts at the southern border in response to Biden's immigration order
NORTH TEXAS - Reactions to President Biden's executive action aimed at limiting asylum claims to deter illegal crossings at the southern border have been mixed on both sides of the aisle.
"We will be redoubling our efforts to add even more miles of razor wire border barrier, more miles of the border wall that we are building, more National Guard," Abbott told CBS News Texas.
A National Guard military base was added last week at the border in Eagle Pass.
"We will have more soldiers present constantly on the border to make sure that there is no illegal entry into our state," said Abbott.
Over the past two years, illegal crossings have decreased in Texas by 72%, Abbott said, and is a direct result of the deterrence the Texas National Guard established.
According to "Border Czar" Mike Banks, Abbott's main advisor on border matters, "Texas has decreased illegal crossings in Texas while it has increased in other states."
Officials reported record levels of migrant apprehensions in the country, including more than 2 million in each of the past two years. Migrant apprehensions are down by more than 50% so far this year, due in part to a months-long campaign by Mexico to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. border.
Biden said the new policy would further drive down the number of crossings, easing the burden on the asylum system in the U.S., which faces a backlog of more than 3 million cases.
Abbott said via X that Biden's "border order is a smokescreen for his failed open border policies," adding that the "feckless executive order" will not secure the southern border.
The clash over immigration laws between Abbott and the federal government has gone on for years. Abbott launched Operation Lone Star three years ago, deploying police, soldiers and miles of barriers to deter illegal crossings.
Throughout rulings on floating barriers, restraining orders on razor wire, and multiple lawsuits relating to Texas' immigration law SB4, the Supreme Court repeatedly ruled that immigration is the job of the federal government. Texas' arguments generally lie with the term "invasion." Supreme Court rulings affirm "invasion" as an armed hostility or military invasion rather than a large influx of legal or illegal aliens into a state, under Article IV.
The new policy takes effect Tuesday evening at 11:01 p.m. CT.