Texas governor seizes national spotlight amid border tensions

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) handling of the migrant crisis at his state’s southern border is catapulting him into the spotlight outside of Texas as the crisis plays out on the national stage.

Republicans in Washington have failed to pass legislation addressing the migrant crisis despite making it a top political issue. Abbott, on the other hand, has taken action, putting him at odds with the Biden administration.

The governor’s border policies and subsequent standoff with the administration have given him a prominent platform in the conservative media sphere that he could utilize to his advantage as he considers his future steps within the GOP.

“He’s the guy on the border,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas-based Republican strategist. “He’s been very smart about it politically, very smart about it, I think, from a policy standpoint, trying to get more power for the state.”

“It’s been an opportunity for him to become a national figure like never before,” he added. 

The standoff between Abbott and President Biden began last year when Texas started the process of installing razor wire along the southern border. The Biden administration argued the state did not have the authority, which resulted in pushback from Texas Republicans and state officials who said they had a right to defend the state amid the influx of migrants. 

Last month, the state fenced off a local public park and put up razor wire without alerting local authorities beforehand. State law enforcement also blocked U.S. Border Patrol officers from coming into the park. The federal government has said the razor wire prevents it from doing its job, and the Supreme Court ruled that federal border patrol agents have the authority to remove the razor wire. Still, the Texas National Guard has continued to install it.

Abbott said earlier this month that the razor wire has resulted in a “massive reduction” of migrant crossings in the park, claiming that the previous daily 3,000 to 4,000 crossings have dropped to the single digits.

“He’s fighting for the state of Texas. He’s fighting to secure the border. He’s also fighting for the United States of America in seeking to actually add a level of security that the federal government is refusing to provide,” said John Wittman, Abbott’s former communications director. 

Abbott is in a prime position to take on the administration over the border because of his status as the only Republican governor in a southern border state. In 2021, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, an ongoing joint operation between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department, aimed at curbing the flow of illegal immigration, drug smuggling and human trafficking. Democrats have voiced opposition to the program, citing its treatment of migrants.

On Tuesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) ordered his state’s National Guard to deploy additional troops to the southern border to assist the Texas National Guard in Operation Lone Star. 

Other Republican governors across the country have publicly backed Abbott amid the standoff. Earlier this month, 13 Republican governors gathered with Abbott in Eagle Pass in a show of support for him.

But perhaps one of the biggest moves Abbott has received GOP praise for was busing migrants from the southern border to Democratic-led cities such as New York and Chicago, which have sanctuary city laws in place. The Democratic mayors in those cities have since struggled to deal with the influx of migrants.

“I think all the governor is trying to do is showcase the problem it is to the rest of the country,” Wittman said. “Now all of a sudden you have Democrat mayors calling for more border security, which I never thought we would see.”

“It definitely worked out well for [Abbott] because I think he took the problem and brought it to the doorstep of the powers that be,” Wittman added. 

Democrats, on the other hand, say Abbott’s standoff with the president on the border amounts to mere “showmanship.”

“You cannot put barbed wire across an international border if you’re [a] state,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party. “Abbott’s just playing politics to somehow raise the way he’s perceived in his party because he’s got some kind of ambition beyond being the governor.” 

While Abbott, who as Texas governor is not subject to term limits, has never said publicly that he has presidential ambitions, his name is often included in what is expected to be a large Republican roster in 2028. The governor would walk into the race with high name identification and credible fundraising chops. Abbott’s campaign said in January that it raised $19 million in 2023. 

“I would definitely throw him in that serious contender category, especially if Biden wins reelection,” Steinhauser said. “I would think that Abbott would be well-prepared, especially if the border continues as the way it is.”

Other Republicans are skeptical Abbott’s policies and actions on the southern border withstand what has already been a brutal 2024 news cycle.

“In a presidential year, with everything that’s going, with so much focus on Washington and Mayorkas and spending bills, with or without funding for the southern border, to Trump being our nominee and being on the ballot, I think some of this ultimately does get lost in the shuffle,” said one Texas Republican strategist. “If this was a next-year battle with a Biden as president, I think he would have more of a meteoric rise in presence on this.”