USA: On June 10, 2021 Texas Governor Greg Abbott revealed that the Texas state government will start implementing a “comprehensive border security plan” that involves the state entering an agreement with Arizona to continue the construction of the border wall.
Hayden Sparks of the The Texan wrote that “Abbott made the announcement at a “border summit” in Del Rio, where he appeared with Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Major General Tracy Norris of the Texas Military Department, as well as Colonel Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).”
“President Biden’s open-border policies have led to a humanitarian crisis at our southern border as record levels of illegal immigrants, drugs, and contraband pour into Texas,” Abbott declared, saying it was the “most robust and comprehensive border security plan the nation has ever seen.”
The governor continued, “While securing the border is the federal government’s responsibility, Texas will not sit idly by as this crisis grows. The state is working collaboratively with communities impacted by the crisis to arrest and detain individuals coming into Texas illegally.”
To make this agreement an interstate affair, the Texas state government will use the Emergency Management Assistance Compact with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.
For the border security plan, the governor will create a task force made up of individuals “representing Abbott, DPS, DEM, Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas Military Department, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards”, according to Sparks’ report.
Abbott’s bold move on border security was likely spurred by former State Senator Don Huffines’ primary challenge. Since entering the race to challenge the sitting governor, Huffines has run to the right of Abbott on border security.
Following Abbott’s recent announcement, Huffines attacked Abbott and called attention to how the governor’s policies are similar to Huffines’ campaign proposals.
“I would like to thank ‘all talk, no action’ Greg Abbott for joining my campaign by admitting that as governor he’s had the power for the last seven years to close down the Texas border, and has refused to do so,” Huffines declared in a press release.
“His significant shift in tone today is a result of the massive momentum our campaign is receiving. As governor, I will finish Trump’s wall and actually close down the border. I will also end taxpayer subsidies to illegal aliens that Greg Abbott is funding in his current budget.”
According to Sparks, “There were 180,000 enforcement encounters with illegal aliens in the southwestern U.S. in May, including more than 118,000 in the border patrol sectors of El Paso, Big Bend, Laredo, Del Rio, and the Rio Grande Valley, reflecting no reprieve for overwhelmed border patrol authorities.”
As a response to the surge in illegal crossings and the other illegal activities that come attached to it, Abbott declared a state of disaster on Memorial Day in numerous countries that straddle Texas’ southern border with Mexico.
This case illustrates the power of a credible primary opponent. When a politician drags his feet on a number of issues, a primary challenge to their right is necessary to get them to correct course. For America First conservatives who complain about a given Republican politician who doesn’t do enough to uphold their values, launching a credible primary challenge is a good way for politicians to quickly get the memo that the grassroots is fed up.
