Critics say Gov. Abbott isn’t doing enough to address border crisis

(The Center Square) – A Texas lawmaker and other conservatives in the Lone Star State are questioning whether Gov. Greg Abbott is doing enough to combat illegal immigration in the wake of President Joe Biden’s policies leading to significant spikes in illegal border crossings.

After a recent border summit in Del Rio, Texas, and after Abbott announced that Texas would build its own border wall, residents said the response was welcomed but their calls for help have gone unanswered for years.

State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Canton, who filed a measure to build a border wall that didn’t make it out of committee, questioned why the governor didn’t publicly support his bill to give it a better chance.

Slaton told The Center Square that if Abbott has the authority to implement border security measures independently now, “why didn’t he do it seven years ago, or even two months ago or when the legislature was in session this year or in 2019? If it’s such a crisis, why didn’t Abbott make the border wall bill a legislative priority?”

“We knew how bad it was two months ago during the legislative session,” he added, which is why he introduced the bill.

When asked at a Wednesday news conference why he is just now addressing the border security issue, Abbott said it was because of the crisis created by the Biden administration and the state’s response has been part of a process since March, when he launched Operation Lone Star to help combat illegal immigration.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said the border “crisis” was created by Washington, D.C., and that the House would be holding hearings in the next special session, indicating the border wall would be on the agenda.

Renae Eze, Abbott’s press secretary, told The Center Square, “The State of Texas continues to provide more resources to border communities to combat this crisis, but just providing more resources alone is not going to be enough. We need to provide new strategies and new tools to address these challenges. That’s why at last week’s Border Security Summit, Governor Abbott discussed collaborative strategies between state government, local city and county officials, law enforcement, and landowners to secure our border communities.

“The Governor will not be addressing this Biden-made crisis in isolation. In recent weeks, Governor Abbott has been working closely with legislative leaders on lasting border solutions to create a safer and securer Texas for current and future generations.”

In response to Abbott’s border policy announcement, Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith, who was the first to issue a county disaster declaration over the border crisis, said the governor’s plan was a good start but it doesn’t go far enough.

“Abbott’s policies don’t include deportation and only slow down the revolving door, which ultimately leads to Border Patrol releasing illegal aliens into our communities,” Smith said. “That’s not acceptable. Kinney County will not release our prisoners to Border Patrol if that results in them being released back into the public. We will deport them ourselves. Kinney County’s message to Governor Abbott is: Lead. Follow. Or get the hell out of the way.”

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