Texas Governor Greg Abbott is being praised by a grassroots conservative organization for comments he made about border security during a press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday. As Breitbart Texas reported, Abbott was joined by Senator Ted Cruz, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton to address the recent temporary injunction imposed by a federal judge in Texas on President Barack Obama’s executive order that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
During his last few weeks as Attorney General, Abbott had filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration challenging the President’s plan to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation. Twenty-five other states joined Texas in the litigation. Late Tuesday night, Judge Andrew Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a ruling that Obama did not have the authority to grant amnesty by executive order, and imposed a temporary injunction prohibiting the Obama administration from implementing any part of the President’s program.
At the Wednesday press conference, the four Texas elected officials touted the court’s ruling as not just a victory for defenders of the Constitution who viewed Obama’s executive orders as a violation of the balance of powers between the branches of government, but also an important practical step for Texas’ efforts to protect its border.
During his remarks, Abbott compared his definition of border security to police operations in large cities. Abbott remarked that police work toward the goals of having “no more murders, no more wrecks, no more thefts,” even though actually reaching those goals might not be possible. Abbott then defined border security from a similar perspective: “Border security means that only those who are authorized to cross the border can do so.”
Grassroots America’s Executive Director JoAnn Fleming provided a statement exclusively to Breitbart Texas, praising Abbott’s “plainspoken definition of border security.”
“Gov. Abbott’s definition of border security is what we’ve been waiting to hear,” said Fleming. “Since border security is the top priority every time Texans are polled, this kind of clarity is a breath of fresh air. We’re relieved to have a Governor and Lt. Governor who intend to truly gain operational control of the entire Texas border – not merely engage in political theater. In November’s General Election, Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick were given a mandate by voters to protect Texas from a wide-open border and from a federal government they no longer trust to faithfully execute federal immigration laws.”
Last year, Fleming joined other grassroots activists in several press conferences at the Capitol, seeking to draw attention to the dangers and challenges created by shortcomings they saw in both the federal government and Texas’ approach to securing the border. Fleming had also visited the border herself in a trip Breitbart Texas organized for activists to see for themselves the situation on the border.
Fleming’s statement also mentioned Shawn Moran, Vice-president of the National Border Patrol Council, and his ongoing frustration that agents are not allowed to truly enforce our immigration laws. “Why do we have immigration laws if we aren’t going to enforce them?” asked Fleming. “Why do we have a Border Patrol? Why do people like Agent Brian Terry die? Agents Robert Rosas, Luis Aguilar, and now Javier Vega, if we aren’t going to be serious? What do we have to do in this country to make Washington leaders take this threat seriously and allow Border Patrol to do its job?”
Pointing out that Texas has more than 29 legal ports of entry, Fleming stated that “there is simply no reason Texas shouldn’t send a message to cross at the legal ports of entry or do not enter.”
During Abbott’s first “State of the State” speech, delivered earlier this week, the Governor identified border security as one of his top priorities. Abbott’s budget more than doubles state spending on border security, adding 500 new Texas Department of Public Safety troopers. Abbott also said that he supported continuing the deployment of the Texas National Guard to the border until the additional DPS personnel could be hired and put in place.
[Disclosure: JoAnn Fleming is a Breitbart Texas contributor.]
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter @rumpfshaker.
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