Abbott: Biden ‘Needs a Backbone’ on the Border, Enforces Immigration Laws

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that President Joe Biden needed “a backbone” to enforce immigration laws on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Anchor Dana Bash said, “Turning to the border governor, you have successfully made blue states pay attention to the migrant crisis by sending tens of thousands of migrants to cities like New York and Chicago. President Biden is considering an executive action to restrict migrants ability to seek asylum after they illegally crossed the border. Would you support that?”

Abbott said, “So no because what that would, if he were to grant asylum after migrants cross the border illegally, that would be authorizing illegal immigration and that would cause chaos. But listen one thing you mentioned, you said he’s considering executive action. Know this and that is what the president said a couple of weeks ago that he needed Congress to pass a law for him to be able to take action. That was completely false.”

He continued, “The fact that the matter is there are laws on the books passed by Congress of the United States right now now that authorize the executive branch to deny illegal entry if people get here illegally to detain them, as well as to require the president and the presidential administration to build border barriers. The president is not using his executive authority to do any of those things that Congress has already authorize.”

Abbott added, “The president does not need new laws. The president needs a backbone to make sure that he said he enforces the immigration laws that are already on the books.”

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