Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) was purposefully “trying to wreak havoc in other cities and states across the country.”
Anchor Dana Bash said, “I want you to listen to what the Texas Governor Greg Abbott told me on the show about the idea of whether or not legislation is needed. Take a listen.”
Abbott said, “The fact that the matter is there are laws on the books passed by Congress of the United States right now that authorize the executive branch to deny illegal entry. 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.
Mayorkas said, “Couldn’t be more wrong, couldn’t be more wrong. As a matter of fact, former President Trump tried to close the border and it was enjoined in the courts and never saw the light of day.”
He continued, “This coming from an individual who is purposefully refusing to coordinate, communicate, collaborate with other officials, and trying to wreak havoc in other cities and states across the country. That is not a model of governance and he couldn’t be more wrong.”
Mayorkas added, “We encountered it historic number of individuals at the southern border in December of 2023. Mexico had seized its enforcement operations and its enforcement agency had been unfunded. President Biden reached out to President López Obrador of Mexico and spoke of the need for enforcement to resume. Then he dispatched Secretary Blinken and me to meet with our Mexican counterparts and echo that important message. Mexico did and the numbers in January of this year dropped more than 50%. So there are things that we can do.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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