Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) laid out some of the immediate actions that the state of Texas was taking under his leadership to slow down the surge of illegal immigration that has happened under the Biden administration, including using large shipping containers as makeshift border barriers to block migrants from illegally entering the U.S.
“We now have 6,500 National Guard and DPS troopers on the border to help secure the border,” Abbott said. “And as we’re talking right now, they are identifying locations on the border, where they are laying down razor wire to secure all the possible crossings that these caravans may be coming to.”
“And then in addition to that, beginning today, we begin dropping these large containers that you see on 18 wheelers, that you also see on these ships that are going across the ocean, we’re dropping them down on locations that could be crossings that would be used by these caravans to serve as a blockade to prevent them from becoming across the border,” Abbott continued. “And then on top of that, if they do do come across the border, the National Guard of the Texas Department of Public Safety, they are authorized to arrest, you know, these people who make it through our blockade efforts and put them in jail for violating a crime of criminal trespass in the state of Texas. And Tucker, on top of that, Texas is stepping up and we are building our own border wall, that process has already begun. We’re in the process of getting bids on it. And I’m told to expect part of the Texas wall to be completed before the end of this calendar year.”
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TRANSCRIPT:
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: The governor of the state of Texas, Greg Abbott, has mobilized the Texas National Guard to protect the sovereignty of this country and of his state. The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, joins us now to explain what he’s doing. Governor, thanks so much for coming on. Thank you for doing this. If you don’t mind, if you give our viewers an overview of what you’ve done to secure your border with Mexico.
GREG ABBOTT, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS (R): I’ll tell you exactly what we are doing, but I want to emphasize a phrase you used earlier, and that is the Biden administration is actively encouraging this, which is in contrast to what the Trump administration did. So, once the Biden administration has taken over what Texas has done, we now have 6,500 National Guard and DPS troopers on the border to help secure the border. And as we’re talking right now, they are identifying locations on the border, where they are laying down razor wire to secure all the possible crossings that these caravans may be coming to. And then in addition to that, beginning today, we begin dropping these large containers that you see on 18 wheelers, that you also see on these ships that are going across the ocean, we’re dropping them down on locations that could be crossings that would be used by these caravans to serve as a blockade to prevent them from becoming across the border. And then on top of that, if they do do come across the border, the National Guard of the Texas Department of Public Safety, they are authorized to arrest, you know, these people who make it through our blockade efforts and put them in jail for violating a crime of criminal trespass in the state of Texas. And Tucker, on top of that, Texas is stepping up and we are building our own border wall, that process has already begun. We’re in the process of getting bids on it. And I’m told to expect part of the Texas wall to be completed before the end of this calendar year.
CARLSON: Amen. When the country falls apart states that have to act like countries. So, you’re the chief executive of a state whose sovereignty is being violated by foreign nationals, many of whom are not even from nearby country, not even Latin American, they’re from around the world. It seems you’re doing a sensible thing. The only thing, what kind of pushback do you expect to get from the Biden administration for doing this?
ABBOTT: Listen, the Biden administration has been pushing back every step of the way. Among other things that I did, Tucker, I issued an order preventing any of the NGOs or other assistance aids in the state of Texas from transporting or moving any illegal immigrant within the state of Texas because of healthcare reasons because of possible spread of COVID. The Biden administration sued me, they went to federal court, they got a federal court to rule that my executive order was unconstitutional. I will continue to act, however, but it just goes to show the level of pushback by the Biden administration, even trying to deny me to protect the health and safety of my fellow Texans.
CARLSON: You’ve had hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people come from other countries illegally through Texas and then come into the into the United States. How, to what degree can you staunch the flow of people coming in illegally, do you think?
ABBOTT: So, the best way we can do that is the strategies that we are employing as we speak right now. And that is to identify all of these locations where they may be coming across and they’re called ‘low water crossing areas,’ and then to serve as blockades in those regions so that we will be preventing the people from coming across the border.
CARLSON: What, I have to ask you since you deal with this every day, what do you think the Biden administration’s motive is in throwing open our borders to the world?
ABBOTT: It is clear, kind of what you were talking about earlier, Joe Biden believes in open border policies and his administration do, and they are truly trying to redesign the United States of America in a complete lawless way. They talked about this on the campaign trail when all the Democrats were on the same debate stage talking about quite literally the socialistic policies they would employ in the United States, which mimic Ocasio-Cortez and her acolytes. And they are acting out on all those policies and promises they made during the campaign. That leaves it to the states now to step up and do everything we can to hold on to the United States of America until Republicans can regain control of Congress and the presidency.
CARLSON: Yeah, with new attitudes, I hope too. Well, you’re certainly protecting the rest of us by doing this. Governor, we appreciate you coming on tonight. Thank you very much.