Texas Governor Greg Abbott: ‘Texas is going to start arresting everybody coming across the border’
Thomas McDonald
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Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration in southern Texas in response to the surge of migrants crossing the border from Mexico.
“President Biden’s open-border policies have paved the way for dangerous gangs and cartels, human traffickers, and deadly drugs like fentanyl to pour into our communities,” Abbott said in a press release.
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“Texas continues to step up to confront the border crisis in the federal government’s absence, but more must be done,” he added.
“We’re about to change the way that Texas addresses the challenges along the border,” Abbott said in an interview with Sean Hannity, “and we’re going to start by helping these 34 counties [along the border] respond by increasing arrests. We got a new game in town in the state of Texas that’s going to begin next week.”
“I’m being very clear. The law that I’m going to be used will be legal ways where Texas is going to start arresting everybody coming across the border. They’re going to be spending half a year in jail,” he added.
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“You hear about disaster declarations for hurricanes,” the Abbott said in an interview on Newsmax. “This is the first time that I’m aware of where I had to declare a disaster for 34 counties along the border because of the crisis because of so many people coming across the border.”
“And you have cartels organizing efforts where ranchers’ property and their fences are torn down, their livestock is let out, their homes are damaged, their cars are broken into, their neighborhoods are dangerous, and we are going to instill safety,” he added.
“We are going to be doing things in Texas that no state has ever done before when it comes to cracking down on anybody coming across the border. We’re going to step up and secure the border.”
The new policy comes as earlier this year Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, which deployed thousands of public safety officials to the southern border in order to stem the flow of migrants coming into his state from Mexico.
“Today Texas launched Operation Lone Star to respond to the border crisis. It deploys Nat’l Guard + DPS Officers + air, ground, marine, & tactical border security assets to deny Mexican Cartels & smugglers the ability to move drugs & people into Texas,” Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted, hours after reminding the world that Texans know how to fight back.”