With the crisis at the southern border having worsened over the last three years, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says it’s “long past time” for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be impeached.
During an interview on the Chris Salcedo Show, Abbott was asked about Mayorkas’ opposition to Texas’ new buoy barriers placed in the Rio Grande. The barriers have slowed illegal crossings between ports of entry in Eagle Pass.
“He’s in charge of homeland security, and he’s made the homeland more insecure than any Homeland Security secretary ever. He needs to be removed,” said Abbott.
Additionally, Abbott took aim at the Biden administration’s lack of transparency regarding who is coming across the southern border.
“The number of terrorists on the watch list who have come across the border, the Biden administration will not identify and will not let the public know,” said Abbott. “[What] they are hiding from Americans’ information is incredibly important to our homeland security. They need to clean house and they need to start enforcing the laws that already exist that allow them to repatriate and send back to the country of origin … people who have come across the border illegally.”
Earlier this week, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas for its newly implemented “marine barriers,” with the administration arguing their placement “exposes a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns.”
Abbott told Salcedo that Texas is “abiding by the Constitution, using our constitutional authority to deny illegal immigrants access to our country.”
“Texas is stepping up as the fighter for the freedom and sovereignty of this country. And we need the United States to step up and do his job,” he added.
While the buoy barrier and increased fencing has helped slow illegal crossings in between ports of entry, border security advocates say there is more work to be done to secure Texas’ entire border.
Texans for Strong Borders is asking Abbott to “immediately call a special session to address what the Legislature failed to accomplish in the regular session: creating a dedicated Texas border force, eliminating taxpayer subsidies for illegal aliens, and mandating E-Verify to ensure they cannot obtain employment.”