Texas Gov. Abbott predicts Title 42 repeal will see more people enter state in one year than live in any of it

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The ongoing border crisis that has seen migrants crossing into the U.S. from the south in staggering numbers will only increase if President Biden follows through on his plan to lift the Title 42 public health order next month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.

During remarks delivered at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Texas Department of Public Safety memorial, Abbott praised the agency while noting the tremendous responsibility they have in addressing the situation.

SECOND TEXAS BUS DROPS OFF MIGRANTS NEAR US CAPITOL IN WASHINGTON, DC

"Look at what they’re having to deal with, in an unprecedented fashion, along the border," Abbott said. He later noted that DPS has had to apprehend illegal immigrants who had been able to evade Border Patrol agents.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in San Antonio on March 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

"We live in a time with the most extreme and urgent border crisis in the history of the state of Texas," Abbott said. "In just the past 15 months there’s been more than 1.6 million people come across the Texas border illegally."

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Abbott noted that the 1.6 million figure is higher than the population of any Texas city except for Houston, which was listed as having 2.3 million people in a 2020 census estimate. The Republican governor warned that if Biden ends Title 42, "that number's only going to double or maybe even triple."

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"What that means," Abbott continued, "over the next year, beginning May 23, there will be more people coming into the state of Texas than even the largest city in the state of Texas. That is an extraordinary challenge for the state to deal with."

Abbott has been aggressive in challenging the Biden administration, using buses to take migrants who were released into his state by federal authorities to Washington, D.C. So far, two buses have taken people – who had originally come from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Colombia – from Texas to the nation's capital.