O’Rourke: Biden should order ‘immediate removal’ of Abbott’s razor wire, Rio Grande obstructions

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) in an op-ed published Tuesday called on President Biden to “order the immediate removal” of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) razor wire and buoy obstructions in the Rio Grande.

“It’s time for President Biden to step up,” wrote O’Rourke, a prominent Texan Democrat who lost his bid to unseat Abbot as governor in 2022.

O’Rourke ran an unsuccessful campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in 2018 and for president in 2020, but he dropped out of the Democratic primary race to endorse Biden.

In his New York Times opinion piece, the former lawmaker sharply rebuked Abbott for what he called his “political stunts” and for Operation Lone Star, which O’Rourke described as Abbott’s “dangerous, illegal and ineffective border mission.” 

Abbott launched the program in 2021 to take control of part of the southern border, which by law, is under the authority of the federal government. Texas has spent billions of dollars on the operation, elements of which have been found to violate federal law. 

The border security program has come under increased scrutiny for reports of inhumane treatment of migrants, yet, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, “There’s no indication it has worked.”

O’Rourke, however, also took aim at Biden’s new immigration policies, specifically saying the strategy of “prevention through deterrence” behind the administration’s updated asylum restrictions only “risks worsening the humanitarian crisis at the border.”

A federal judge Tuesday also blocked a Biden administration rule that limited access to asylum, issuing a decision that will take effect in two weeks.

“I know that President Biden is a good man who has the ability to tackle conflict head-on by leading with moral clarity. … And to his credit, the president has taken steps to undo some of the most harmful elements of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies,” O’Rourke wrote. 

“But he has also imposed new asylum restrictions that cut off access to protection for far too many, while leaving thousands more to wait for weeks or months in squalid tent camps in Mexican border towns, where they suffer alarming rates of kidnapping, sexual assault or worse,” he added.

The Texas Democrat argued Biden must prioritize doing more to stop Abbott from defying federal law. O’Rourke praised the Justice Department’s lawsuit filed Monday calling on Abbott to remove the “dangerous” barriers in the Rio Grande, but he noted the governor has made clear he would not comply.

While O’Rourke acknowledged it was a “good first step,” he said it was “far from sufficient” to tackle the issue.

“Mr. Biden must change course, and that begins by stopping Mr. Abbott,” he continued. “The president should order the immediate removal of the lethal razor wire and obstructions in the Rio Grande and ensure that Border Patrol are unimpeded by Texas Department of Public Safety officers — today.”

“Every day that Mr. Biden fails to stop Mr. Abbott leads to unnecessary, preventable suffering,” O’Rourke added.