Texas Gov. Greg Abbott showed on social media that he’s still allowing illegal aliens to cross the state’s open border, and he hasn’t said if he’s switched from building a chain-link fence to an actual “border wall.” While the Biden–Harris administration is ignoring a U.S. Supreme Court order on border policy, it is reported that “tens of thousands” of illegal immigrants are heading our way, along with an “emboldened” threat to national security.
“No state is doing more to secure the border than Texas,” Abbott claimed during a social media blitz last week.
On August 14, when border sheriffs testified to the Texas Legislature about the severity of illegal immigration, Abbott announced he was “surging” the Texas National Guard to arrest those illegally crossing the border. In July, he had ordered the Guard to help the Texas Department of Public Safety with such arrests. In neither announcement did Abbott say the Guard was ordered to stop illegal border crossings.
Last week, Abbott said the Guard will help “with the early stages of constructing a border wall.” Last month, citizens found Abbott’s “wall” to be a chain-link fence that was being built behind the border and that he wasn’t using abandoned materials for former President Trump’s unfinished wall. Abbott’s office didn’t respond to a question on whether any changes have been made to his wall since then.
Last week, Abbott reported more than 4,600 illegal aliens had been arrested for criminal trespass and that DPS was “patrolling the border on land, sea, & air.” On August 26 and 27, he shared photographs of arrested illegal aliens who had been allowed to cross the open border. He doesn’t report how many escaped capture.
Allen West, one of Abbott’s rivals in the 2022 Republican primary for governor, reported on social media that from August 23–29, in the Big Bend, Del Rio, El Centro, El Paso, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley sectors, more than 5,400 illegal aliens are known to have escaped capture. West says his numbers come from “local law enforcement.”
Abbott didn’t have photographs or a report of how many, if any, illegal aliens were being stopped from crossing the border or returned to Mexico. “Illegals are still coming,” former Val Verde County Judge Laura Allen told Texas Scorecard. She heard recently from border patrol agents that “things have slightly slowed down. Not significantly, but it has slowed.”
“[Abbott’s] saying a lot but not doing much,” said Victor Avila, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent. “The fact is, our DPS and others are making arrests and stopping smuggling ventures on the U.S. side. However, nothing is being done to stop the illegals from entering in the first place.”
What’s unclear is what’s happening to those arrested: Are they being put in jail to await a court date? Or are they “processed,” set free, and told to come back later? Abbott’s office didn’t respond to questions before publication.
While illegal border crossings continue, more illegal immigrants are reportedly coming.
“The biggest update is the huge caravan coming to Texas from Tapachula, Chiapas [Mexico],” Avila said. “Mostly Haitians and Africans in the group. Tens of thousands!”
Avila also cautioned, despite Abbott’s praise of the U.S. Supreme Court restoring the “Remain in Mexico” policy for illegal immigrants, the ruling “is being ignored” by the Biden administration.
The tragic situation in Afghanistan poses a threat to our open border, as well. “Terrorist cells can take advantage of the open border and gain access to the U.S. Sleeper cells in [Mexico] and in the U.S. have been emboldened with what ISIS and the Taliban are doing,” Avila said. “This is a national security threat to our country.”
