Government and Politics
November 16, 2022
From: Texas Governor Greg AbbottAUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott on Nov 16th, sent a letter to President Joe Biden highlighting the record-breaking level of illegal immigration at America’s southern border caused by the President’s sustained dereliction of duty enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. Prior to President Biden taking office, America had some of the lowest illegal-immigration totals seen in decades, however, over the past year-and-a-half that volume has skyrocketed to more than 2 million immigrants trying to enter the country illegally. The Governor notes that the federal government’s failure to execute America’s immigration laws has forced the State of Texas to protect its own territory against invasion by the Mexican drug cartels and mass illegal immigration.
“You must reinstate the policies that you eliminated, or craft and implement new policies, in order to fulfill your constitutional duty to enforce federal immigration laws and protect the States against invasion,” reads the letter. “Two years of inaction on your part now leave Texas with no choice but to escalate our efforts to secure our State. Your open-border policies, which have catalyzed an unprecedented crisis of illegal immigration, are the sole cause of Texas having to invoke our constitutional authority to defend ourselves.”
The Governor’s letter outlines America’s current immigration laws the President must enforce to satisfy the federal government's constitutional obligation to safeguard its citizens, including:
Earlier on Nov 16th, Governor Abbott also ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Texas Military Department (TMD) to escalate their unprecedented efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico border. In a letter to DPS Director Steve McCraw and TMD Adjutant General Thomas Suelzer, the Governor outlined the need for the Operation Lone Star partners to defend Texas against what amounts to an invasion of America's southern border. On Nov 16th’s letter follows a letter on Monday the Governor sent to Texas county judges explaining his Executive Order that invokes the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions to fully authorize the unprecedented actions Texas is taking to secure the border amid an all-time record for illegal immigration.
Read Governor Abbott’s letter to President Biden.
Governor Abbott has taken unprecedented action to secure the border in the wake of the federal government’s inaction, including:
Read more on additional actions taken by the Governor to secure the border.