OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), frustrated by inaction from President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to shore up border security among record illegal immigration and drug smuggling, has ordered more barriers erected along the state’s boundary with Mexico.
“Photos published by El Paso’s KFOX-TV show National Guard soldiers erecting razor-wire barriers in West Texas near the state’s border with New Mexico. The barriers are going up close to the city of Sunland Park, New Mexico,” The Western Journal reported, citing the outlet.
In an X platform post on Monday, Abbott wrote, “Migrants are entering New Mexico illegally then crossing into Texas. We are stopping it.”
"Texas National Guard reinforces border with razor wire following Governor Abbott's orders."
This is on the border between Texas and NEW Mexico.
Migrants are entering New Mexico illegally then crossing into Texas.
We are stopping it.https://t.co/5ypt0HBJzw
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 10, 2023
Abbott’s efforts to shunt illegal border crossings into Texas, which have overwhelmed the states’ border communities, began in earnest last year.
Initially, the governor signed an executive order that instructed the Texas National Guard to be deployed and to bring the illegal immigrants back to the border.
“While President Biden refuses to do his job and enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress, the State of Texas is once again stepping up and taking unprecedented action to protect Americans and secure our southern border,” the governor said in the press release on Thursday. “The cartels have become emboldened and enriched by President Biden’s open border policies, smuggling in record numbers of people, weapons, and deadly drugs like fentanyl.”
“As noted in the executive order, the Biden Administration ‘has abandoned the covenant, in Article IV, § 4 of the U.S. Constitution, that ‘[t]he United States . . . shall protect each [State in this Union] against Invasion,’ and thus has forced the State of Texas to build a border wall, deploy state military forces, and enter into agreements as described in Article I, § 10 of the U.S. Constitution to secure the State of Texas and repel the illegal immigration that funds the cartels,’” he said.
“I have authorized the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to begin returning illegal immigrants to the border to stop this criminal enterprise endangering our communities,” he said. “As the challenges on the border continue to increase, Texas will continue to take action to address those challenges caused by the Biden Administration.”
Last month, he issued another order sending elements of the Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety troopers to Eagle Pass to assist local authorities after the border town mayor issued a disaster declaration, according to NewsNation.
In fiscal year 2023, the Eagle Pass sector of the southern border has seen a staggering 270,000 encounters with unauthorized migrants. But on Wednesday, sources with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that a record-breaking 10,000 individuals entered the town from Mexico in a single day.
“Numbers like that haven’t been seen since before the end of the pandemic-era policy Title 42, which allowed officials to turn migrants away on public health grounds. Before Title 42’s expiration May 11, illegal crossings started to surge, although shortly after the policy was lifted, they dropped dramatically,” NewsNation reported.
“There has been a situation the last couple of days where we have gotten an influx of immigrants crossing through Eagle Pass. And it has taken a toll on our local resources,” Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas told NewsNation after he issued the disaster declaration.
“I’ve been getting a lot of calls from our constituents, and they get worried — they see a lot of a lot of people in our community. But it is my understanding that some of these people, they don’t want to be there. So they’re leaving [the shelters], and they’re on our streets, and I understand the concerns of a lot of people,” Salinas noted further.
A video clip tweeted by Townhall.com correspondent Julio Rosas showed Texas National Guard troops preventing illegal migrants from entering the state.
🚨: The National Guard is preventing illegal immigrants from entering Eagle Pass. pic.twitter.com/tAVe9KyAQd
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 23, 2023
