Texas Gov. Abbott slams Biden admin's decision to end Title 42
Texas Governor Greg Abbott argues the move is the 'most disastrous thing' anyone has ever witnessed and that the situation at the southern border is a 'total disaster.'
Texas Governor Greg Abbott argued on Sunday that President Biden’s stance on the southern border is the "most disastrous thing" anyone has ever witnessed.
The Texas governor made the argument during an exclusive interview on "Sunday Morning Futures" referencing the Biden administration’s move to end the use of the Title 42 public health order to expel migrants at the border.
Abbott told host Maria Bartiromo that the move "will be catastrophic for the United States of America."
Earlier this month, the Biden administration confirmed it will terminate the policy at the end of May despite fears from both Democrats and Republicans, as well as officials within the administration, of a massive migrant wave in the coming months.
The administration has acknowledged a potential migrant surge, as it has been preparing for up to 18,000 migrants a day.
"Do the math on that and you will find it means that more than six million people will be coming across the border a year, and about half of those will be in the state of Texas," Abbott said.
He then noted that this would mean more people would be coming across the border in one year than the amount of people who live in the state’s largest city of Houston.
"There is no way the state of Texas can assimilate those people, and there’s no way the United States can assimilate that number of people, and so what Joe Biden is doing is far more than reckless, it’s the most disastrous thing to the United States of America anybody has ever witnessed in our lifetime," Abbott said.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this month claimed that the Department of Homeland Security has "put in place a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to manage any potential increase in the number of migrants encountered at our border."
Abbott told Bartiromo that he has taken matters into his own hands, given that the situation at the border is "a total disaster." He argued that this was not only created by President Biden and his administration, but "by the Democrats across the board."
Governor Greg Abbott discusses the 'historic deals' he negotiated with the governors of Mexican states in an effort to secure the southern border. (Fox News)
"We have a president of the United States who has not negotiated with the president of Mexico, so I, as governor of Texas, have taken matters into my own hands, and I have negotiated landmark, historic deals with the governors of Mexican states that are adjacent to Texas where these Mexican states are going to step up, and they are going to start securing the border," Abbott said.
He noted that this "is on top of things that Texas has done that’s never been done before in the history of America."
Abbott provided examples, noting that Texas is building its own border wall, installing "miles of razor wire to prevent people from coming across the border," and creating a boat blockade.
Abbott also said that the Texas National Guard "turned back more than 15,000 people who attempted to come across the border illegally."
"So Texas is doing everything that we possibly can to contain a completely out of control border situation that is the worst I’ve ever seen it," he continued.
Abbott also weighed in on the missing National Guard soldier who tried to rescue illegal migrants, calling the situation a "tragedy."
"It shows how dangerous it is on the border," he said. "It shows heroism by the member of the Texas National Guard who was trying to save lives."
Two illegal migrants who a now-missing Texas National Guard soldier tried to save from a river were involved in "illicit transnational narcotics trafficking," officials said Saturday as the search for the missing service member resumed.
The soldier went missing on Friday after entering a river in Eagle Pass to help two migrants who officials say "appeared to be drowning as they illegally crossed the river from Mexico to the United States."
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In a statement, the Texas Military Dept. said that initial reports from Texas Rangers "have determined that the two migrants were involved in illicit transnational narcotics trafficking." They are both in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.
Abbott told Bartiromo that the goal is "to locate this missing soldier" and "hopefully it’ll lead to a safe outcome."
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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