Greg Abbott Says Biden’s Border Order Will Lead to More Illegal Crossings

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott slammed President Joe Biden‘s new executive order on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that it could lead to an increase in illegal immigration.

On Wednesday, Abbott appeared on Fox News‘ America Reports to talk about Biden’s executive order to respond to illegal immigration at the nation’s Southern borders.

“What this executive order does, does not in any way address the border crisis he created and will in no way reduce illegal immigration into the United States,” Abbott said on America Reports. “To the contrary, what this order does is actually attract more people to cross the border illegally to try to be a part of that asylum process, so this actually hurts, it doesn’t help, the illegal immigration situation in the United States.”

Abbott added that Biden does not deserve any credit for the executive order and instead should face “condemnation.”

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On Tuesday, the president enforced authority under Immigration and Nationality Act sections 212(f) and 215(a) to suspend asylum processing for migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry when numbers exceed 2,500 per day, reopening when daily numbers fall below 1,500. Immigration remains a pivotal issue heading into the U.S. presidential election.

The White House said the order, which does not include undocumented children, is “not permanent” and will be discontinued when migrant surges decrease to an unspecified amount.

While delivering remarks about the order on Tuesday, Biden said, “Today, I’m announcing actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum. Migrants will be restricted from receiving asylum at our southern border unless they seek it after entering through an established lawful process.”

While further speaking about Biden’s action, Abbott said that “the executive border does absolutely nothing to change the chaos created by Joe Biden at the border.”

“It actually entices and attracts more people to come into our country illegally,” Abbott said. “For the first 2,500 people coming across the border, they’re gonna do absolutely nothing. Then, after 2,500 people cross the border a day, Joe Biden’s gonna stop with the asylum process. Well, that doesn’t stop people from coming across the border. There are people crossing the border every single day who don’t want asylum.”

Abbott also applauded his own actions taken in Texas to combat illegal immigration by deploying razor wire and other barriers along the border, as well as the deployment of National Guard members.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar applauded the action taken by Biden saying “I’ve been advocating for these measures for years because they will bring relief to our border communities who have been on the frontline of this humanitarian crisis.”

However, Biden also faced criticism from some progressive Democrats like Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal, who said, “Seeking asylum is legal under this country’s immigration laws and international treaty obligations. It is extremely disappointing to see the Biden administration severely restricting access to asylum using section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

“We should be looking to manage the border, expand lawful pathways, provide a roadmap to citizenship and celebrate the contributions of immigrants by prioritizing a fair, orderly, and humane system. Today’s actions are a dangerous step in the wrong direction,” Jayapal added in a statement.

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