Last month, the federal government denied a request by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to declare a disaster on the southern border.
After Abbott appealed and asked for help again, the request has again been denied.
On September 20, Abbott sent a letter requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration from President Biden following the surge of Haitian migrants at the Del Rio international bridge. Due to the influx of illegal aliens entering the country and the limited capacity of Texas border towns and Biden’s border patrol, Texas has been utilizing its own emergency funding.
According to Gov. Abbott’s letter, “In response to the ongoing surge of migrants experienced this year, the Texas legislature more than tripled state spending, appropriating another $3 billion for the current budget to address border security. Since the May 31, 2021, state disaster declaration, the State of Texas has spent over $84 million beyond its regular budgeted appropriation to combat the ongoing crisis at our international border.”
Biden’s administration denied this original request for aid and then further denied Gov. Abbott’s appeal on October 24.
According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell, “After a thorough review of all the information contained in your initial request and appeal, we reaffirm our original findings that supplemental federal assistance under the Stafford Act is not warranted for this event. Therefore, I must inform you that your appeal for an emergency declaration is denied,”
Though border security is listed as a federal responsibility under Article 4, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, which states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion,” failure from the federal government to secure the Texas border from illegal invaders has caused many Texans to demand increased action from the state.
“President Biden continues to abandon the people of South Texas. While President Biden refuses to do his job, Texas is doing everything possible to help secure the border,” an Abbott spokesperson told Texas Scorecard. “We are deploying thousands of National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers, building a border wall, arresting migrants trespassing in Texas, and erecting barriers in anticipation of oncoming caravans.”
