EAGLE PASS — Thirteen governors joined Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott at the southern border in Eagle Pass on Sunday to show support for his ongoing feud with the Biden administration over the border crisis, and see for themselves how Texas has stepped up where the federal government has failed.
“Governor Abbott has been stepping up where the federal government is dropping their duty,” Gov. Sarah Sanders of Arkansas told The Daily Wire after a briefing at the border. “So states are coming together, working together, to help do the job of the federal government.”
The visit to the border comes amid a border crisis, with more than 10 million illegal immigrants crossing the border since Joe Biden took office. After the federal government failed to secure the border, Abbott took matters into his own hands by taking control of Shelby Park and reinforcing the border.
We spoke to Arkansas Governor @SarahHuckabee earlier today at the southern border, where she says Texas is proving it can do the job the Biden administration says is impossible
"States are coming together, working together, to help do the job of the federal government" pic.twitter.com/EOplmTdmCR
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) February 5, 2024
Speaking in front of national guard troops, Abbott touted his administration’s success in significantly reducing the number of border crossings and blasted the Biden administration.
“Joe Biden has completely abdicated and abandoned his responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States,” Abbott said. “As opposed to detaining any illegal immigrants, Biden has instead let them all loose across the entire country with no ability to accurately determine their whereabouts.”
Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) praised Abbott for his state’s success in lowering the number of crosses in the Eagle Pass area from thousands to single digits.
“They have virtually shut down crossings here in Eagle Pass,” Gianforte told The Daily Wire. “They showed pictures of 3,500 people in a detention center right here in this park … in the last couple of weeks — since they’ve taken the actions here to secure the border — they’ve had single digit crossings each day.”
Gianforte, whose state borders Canada, said he’s been to the southern border four times because the drugs coming across the borders have harmed his state.
“We’ve been able to shut down Montana Meth but now we have Mexican Meth in Montana along with the fentanyl, and it’s breaking up families, it’s increasing violent crime,” Gianforte said, adding that Montana’s National Guard troops were on the southern border for most of last year. “We need to secure our border and put it to an end.”
While 25 governors signed onto a letter in support of Abbott last week, his press conference at Shelby Park was attended by just about half of the signees. In addition to Sanders and Gianforte, the trip to the border included Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, and Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
Sanders said the group of governors does not intend to abandon the mission until the Biden administration steps up.
“Hopefully the federal government sees that Texas and other states are capable of doing the job they claim is impossible, and that they’ll start helping in the process,” Sanders said. “If they don’t, you’ll continue to see states step up because we know that we have to protect our border and protect the people of our states.”
Texas authorities denied a request from the Biden administration to hand over control of the park to Border Patrol, with the Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety instead maintaining control and even reinforcing existing border barriers with additional razor wire.