Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) claimed Sunday that his state’s razor wire installation at a park in Eagle Pass, Texas, has led to a “massive reduction” in migrant flow in the area.
Abbott said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that several other governors are joining him on Sunday to show their support of Texas’s “right to self-defense” amid an increase of migrants at the U.S. southern border. This comes as Abbott has been entangled in an ongoing feud with the Biden administration over the handling of the border.
“And so these governors are rallying around Texas to support our ongoing right to self-defense, and the deployment of this razor wire that has led to a massive reduction in inflow,” Abbott said. “The area where we have occupied this park in Eagle Pass, Texas, that we put up the razor wire, there used to be 3,000 or 4,000 people crossing that area a day.”
“For the past three days, we have averaged just three people crossing that area. The point is, if we put up resistance, we show that we can secure the border. Joe Biden should not be stopping that,” he continued.
Texas began to install razor wire along its border with Mexico last year — a move that the Biden administration has argued the state does not have the authority to undertake. Texas has doubled down on the razor wire, with state officials arguing they have a right to defend their state against an influx of migrants.
The conflict escalated last month after Texas fenced off a public park in Eagle Pass, Texas, and erected razor wire without notifying local authorities. The state law enforcement later prevented U.S. Border Patrol officers from entering the park, which also has the region’s main boat ramp.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that border agents can remove the razor wire erected by Texas, which the federal government argued prevented them from doing their jobs at the border. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Texas National Guard appears to have continued installing the razor wire.
Abbott also doubled down on his declaration of an invasion last month, arguing again that President Biden is not doing enough to secure the border. Many Republican governors have lined up behind Abbott to support Texas amid its standoff with the Biden administration.
“More than half of the governors are now joined together in support of a very important proposition. And that is, we are guaranteed by the United States Constitution the right of self-defense if states face imminent harm or invasion. Texas obviously is facing both, an imminent harm, as well as an invasion,” Abbott said Sunday.