Texas Gov. Blames Biden for The “Self-Inflicted” Surge of Migrants at the Border

"Secretary Kelly In Texas: Pool Photos" ( United States government work) by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott blamed the Biden administration for the surge of migrants at the southern border.

During a visit to the border on Tuesday, Gov. Abbott blamed the Biden administration for what he called a “self-inflicted” influx of migrants at the southern border, reversing the immigration policies that were implemented under former President Trump.

Abbott told “America Reports” that Biden knew “exactly what was going to happen. He also accused the White House of refusing to acknowledge the responsibility for the ongoing crisis at the border.

Abbott said, “It is a self-inflicted wound because going back to what the Border Patrol officers told me themselves, they informed the Biden administration about this all along, and the Biden administration has known exactly what was going to happen if they refuse to continue to implement the policies that were previously in place.”

The Texas governor also blamed the overwhelming surge at the border on Biden’s rollback of Trump-era policies such as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which returns migrants claiming asylum at the border to Mexico to await their hearings.

Abbott argued that these two policy changes led to the influx at the border. The Texas governor said, “First, the elimination of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ protocol, and that is what suddenly allowed so many people to come back in. The other is the policy of, if people do come across the border, they will be returned to whatever country they came from.”

Abbott also quoted the troubling numbers reported by Border Patrol officials, who declared to have already apprehended more migrants this year than in all of 2020.

According to their estimate, Abbott said that 90,000 people were apprehended last year in the Rio Grande section alone.

However, in the first three months of 2021, there were nearly 180,000 people had been apprehended in the same section.

The Texas governor’s statements come after Biden’s Press secretary Jen Psaki maintained on Tuesday that a “majority” of the migrants who arrive at the border are turned away. Psaki also repeated past statements intended to ensure a more relaxed border policy was not allowing free entry to migrants.

Despite the troubling number of migrants at the border, the White House press secretary was again reluctant to label the situation as a border “crisis.” However, Abbott gave a warning that unless Biden implements aggressive changes at the border and acknowledges the situation’s critical nature, the country will be facing a “total disaster” in the upcoming months.

The Texas Governor said, “Remember, this is a low-number month of the year. The people coming across the border will increase dramatically.” Abbott added, “We’re probably on scale to have maybe up to a million people cross our border, the Texas border, this year. So this is going to be a turn into a total disaster if the Biden administration does not step up and begin implementing stronger measures.”

Despite the surge in migrants at the Southern border, Psaki maintained that a “majority” of migrants who arrive at the border are turned away.

Psaki told reporters in the briefing room, “I don’t think we need to sit here and put new labels on what we’ve already conveyed is challenging.”

Another reporter pressed, “If this doesn’t qualify as a crisis, what does? We think it’s most important to explain the substantive policy of what’s happening, what the root causes are of why these kids are coming, and what we’re doing to try to solve [it].”

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