Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) continued to disagree with President Joe Biden‘s proposed methods to deal with the border crisis.
Abbott appeared on State of the Union on Sunday to respond to the news that the Biden administration is considering using Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to stop providing asylum to those who illegally cross the border. The Texas governor disagreed with the proposal, saying it didn’t go far enough.
“The president is not using his executive authority to do any of those things that Congress has already authorized,” Abbott said. “The president does not need new laws. The president needs a backbone to make sure that he enforces the immigration laws that are already on the books.”
The governor pointed to executive powers that allow the president to deny entry and detain people if they arrive illegally. In Texas, there are 28 ports of entry along the border shared with Mexico, but still, people choose to cross illegally between them.
“But the president has to do first is to establish clearly anybody who crosses the border between a port of entry illegally, must be treated in an illegal way subject to arrest,” Abbott said. “So the first thing the President of the United States has to do is say no more crossing the border between a port of entry and saying that if you cross the border between a port of entry, you lose your ability to seek asylum in the United States.”
Biden is seemingly facing criticisms from both sides of the aisle as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, chaired by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA), has also come out against the proposal. According to the caucus, the executive action would be akin to former President Donald Trump’s, regarding when he abided by Title 42 and did not allow migrants into the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Over 10 million immigrants have reportedly entered the country illegally since Biden took office in 2021. It is the most recorded in that amount of time of any administration.
Operation Lone Star, Texas’s own effort to secure the border since March 2021, has resulted in 497,600 apprehensions of illegal migrants. Among them, 39,000 were arrested, with 35,200 felony charges. Officials seized over 454 million lethal doses of fentanyl since the operation began.