While the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee has been building up to tonight’s speech by former President Donald Trump, numerous Texans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, have taken the stage to support the party’s nominee.
In a primetime speech on Wednesday, Abbott used his platform as the leader of the largest border state to underscore the necessity of strong leadership in the face of the crisis at the southern border.
“America needs a President who will secure our border. America needs Donald J. Trump. The President’s most sacred duty is to protect our country. Under President Trump, we had the lowest illegal border crossings in about four decades,” said Abbott.
He contrasted this with the current administration’s approach, criticizing President Joe Biden’s actions on his first day in office. “On his first day in office, he gutted President Trump’s policies. The result has been catastrophic,” Abbott said. “Around 11 million immigrants have crossed our borders illegally. That’s more than the entire population of Michigan. It’s twice the population of Wisconsin.”
Abbott didn’t mince words when describing the individuals crossing the border under Biden’s policies, saying, “Biden has welcomed into our country rapists, murderers, even terrorists.” Among those, Abbott shared, were the killers of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was raped and murdered by two illegal aliens. “She’s one of thousands whose lives have been destroyed by Joe Biden’s reckless policies,” he added.
In response to these challenges, Abbott highlighted his own efforts to defend Texas’ borders. “I deployed thousands of National Guard to build hundreds of miles of razor wire to stop illegal crossings. When Joe Biden ordered to cut that razor wire, I ordered the National Guard to triple it,” he said.
Abbott also addressed his confrontations with the Biden administration over border security measures. “When Biden took 50 acres of Texas border property to illegally process up to five thousand illegal immigrants per day, I directed the National Guard to take back our land and wire it shut. Now, crossings there average less than one per day.”
“When Joe Biden and his border czar, Kamala Harris, refused to come to Texas to see the border crisis they created, I took the border to them. I bused illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., and sanctuary cities across the country. And we will keep those buses rolling until the border is finally secure.”
Border security was also the focus of the address by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday evening.
“Never before has an election mattered so much. We’re facing an invasion on our southern border. Not figuratively. A literal invasion. 11.5 million people have crossed our border illegally under Joe Biden. Look around you. This arena holds about 18,000 souls. Now imagine 639 arenas just like this filled to the brim. That is 11.5 million people—larger than all but eight states in the nation,” said Cruz.
“But the numbers don’t show us the true price that our country is paying,” he added. “Every day, Americans are dying. Murdered, assaulted, raped by illegal immigrants that the Democrats have released. Teenage girls and boys wearing colored wristbands are being sold into a life of sex slavery. This is evil, and it’s wrong. And it is happening every damn day.”
Cruz then went on to list numerous examples of crimes committed by illegal aliens in the United States, urging Americans to support his once-rival Donald Trump.
“Today, as a result of Joe Biden’s presidency, your family is less safe, your children are less safe, the country is less safe. But here’s the good news: we can fix it. And when Donald Trump is president, we will fix it,” said Cruz.
The Republican National Convention will conclude this evening with a highly anticipated speech from former President Donald Trump.