Towns across Texas are being overwhelmed by tens of thousands of surging illegal migrants, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told a press conference Wednesday.
The press conference took place along the U.S. border with Mexico and included sheriffs from cities across the state who are “overwhelmed” by the surge of illegal migrants.
Pinky Gonzales, sheriff of Refugio County, Texas, said the rural area 180 miles north of the border with a population of 1,000 has been invaded by lawbreakers.
“We have had these human smugglers go through our town going 80 miles an hour in a 35-mile speed zone,” Gonzales said. “I mean this is serious stuff. They have no regard for property or human lives, I mean at all.”
“We have just been overwhelmed with these cases,” Gonzales said.
Micah Harmon, sheriff of Lavaca County, Texas, said his deputies are continually responding to incidents involving migrants that are straining his deputies and depleting resources.
“It’s not just a border problem,” Harmon said. “It’s not just a Texas problem. It’s an America problem.”
“We have to force the federal government to act on it,” Harmon said.
Sheriff A. J. “Andy” Louderback of Jackson County, Texas, slammed the Biden administration for immigration policies that have led to the crisis at the border.
“[What] we’re witnessing here, over and over and over again, destructive policies that are detrimental to Texans and Americans in our nation,” Louderback said, adding that he felt it law enforcement’s “duty” to inform the American people of what is taking place in Texas.
He said he wanted to “make sure that the American people understand what’s actually happening with policies that are put in place that are truly harmful to this nation.”
During the Q&A at the press conference, a reporter cited the fact that neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris have visited the border and then asked what Paxton would want to ask them.
“I would ask them to set aside the politics, and please care,” Paxton said. “Please care about my state. Please care about the border states. Please care about the rest of the country.”
“The fact that they’re not coming down here, the fact that it seems like they’re trying to hide a lot of what’s going on, they’re very very secretive. They’re not letting us know who’s coming in, who’s leaving. There should be more cooperation if they’re going to have this open-border policy, we’re going to be affected by it every day,” Paxton said.
“And so I would ask them, one, follow the law; start following the law, go to policies that work, and please care about our state because it doesn’t seem like they really care right now,” Paxton said.
During the press conference, Paxton thanked all of the law enforcement officials in the state, saying they are “doing an amazing job under intense pressure, and under conditions they shouldn’t have to deal with.”
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