Texas Governor Greg Abbott is determined to tackle illegal immigration not only at the southern border but also by preventing individuals who have crossed the border from entering Texas through other states.
“There are people who cross from Mexico into New Mexico and then right over into El Paso, and that’s something we have to deal with,” Abbott told NewsNation.
Abbott intends to construct a border fence separating the two states, much like the razor wire barrier established along the Mexican border in Eagle Pass, Texas. However, these border barriers, including the wire, have encountered legal obstacles due to Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which the Biden administration contends exceeds his jurisdiction.
“Let’s assume Texas does succeed in reducing illegal immigration to zero percent into our state, which is our goal,” Abbott said. “All those terrorists, all those murderers, all those rapists, they’re just going to go through New Mexico and Arizona and California.”
While there isn’t enough evidence to say whether immigrants or Americans commit more crimes, some experts believe the data that does exist demonstrates that immigrants commit fewer crimes than Americans.
Border crossings have decreased dramatically since President Joe Biden began efforts to dissuade illegal crossings. However, Abbot maintains that border crossings began to decline before that, and immigration has typically fluctuated throughout the year.
“That was after Texas began our accelerated operations to deny illegal entry, using the guard, using the razor wire, using the pepper ball,” remarked the president.
Abbott believes that only a new president can fix the greater border problem.
Congress, which has the authority to decide immigration policy under the Constitution, can only handle full immigration reform. A bipartisan Senate bill that would have made some improvements to border policy collapsed after former President Donald Trump lobbied Republicans to vote against it.
Abbott’s activities have also faced local hurdles, with locals living along the border unwilling to give up part of their land for a border barrier, which the governor has described as a hindrance.
“Those places are basically crevices where illegal immigrants are able to get through,” Abbott said. “We continue to work with those property owners, and we’re winning more and more of them over. Our goal is to win all of them over to make sure we are able to seal the border.”
