Gov. Abbott reacts to Biden's border visit
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) reacts to Biden visit to the southern border and what he suggested for the Biden administration to address
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he showed President Biden five proposals to address the border crisis during Biden's first border visit during his administration.
Abbott joined "Faulkner Focus" to discuss the "sanitized" view of the crisis that Biden saw during his visit to El Paso.
"I pointed out those five specific proposals that do not require any new passage of law, that only require the president to enforce issues that have already been enacted into law by the United States Congress that would stop the flow of illegal immigration between the points of entry," he explained, describing the president as "cordial" during their meeting.
Abbott said it is "outrageous" that Biden did not see what is actually happening as the city of El Paso cleaned up the streets for Biden's arrival.
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after Abbott handed him a letter about the border at El Paso International Airport in El Paso Texas, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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"I asked the president to go down and see for himself where people are crossing the border illegally. Obviously, he did not do that."
Abbott said deploying the Texas National Guard reduced crossings.
"One reason why there are fewer people crossing the border in El Paso right now is that I deployed our Texas National Guard to the area where they were crossing. And because we put up barriers, including razor wire walls, fences and containers."
Despite Biden wanting officials to take down the containers at the border, Abbott said he is fighting this order.
"I challenged them to get us to take it down. We want to battle them because I believe I have the authority to do what we are doing on the border because of Article One, Section 10, And we want to litigate this issue and prove that Texas does have the authority to undertake the actions that I'm undertaking, which are unprecedented for a state to secure not only our state but the entire country."
As President Biden arrived on Sunday, Abbott hand-delivered a scathing letter to the president, criticizing his border policies.
In his letter, Abbott slammed the president’s visit as "$20 billion too little and two years too late." He also noted that the president’s tour avoids areas where mass illegal immigration occurs "and sidesteps the thousands of angry Texas property owners whose lives have been destroyed by your border policies."
"Your open-border policies have emboldened the cartels, who grow wealthy by trafficking deadly fentanyl and even human beings," he said. "Texans are paying an especially high price for your failure, sometimes with their very lives, as local leaders from your own party will tell you if given the chance."
The White House has pushed back Monday on criticism of the visit by Abbott and other Republicans.
"President Biden visited the busiest port of entry in El Paso to get a firsthand look at enforcement operations. He also visited a Federally-funded migrant services center to meet with local officials working together with Federal officials to support and shelter migrants," a White House official told Fox News.
Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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