Texas Gov. Abbott asks governors to fight Biden asylum rules

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday called on other state governors to “band together” in opposition to the Biden administration’s border management policies.

In an open letter to the country’s other 49 governors, Abbott touted his state’s actions along the U.S.-Mexico border, which he said “helped Texas hold the line against the influx of illegal crossings and criminal activity following the end of Title 42 expulsions, with widespread media coverage and recognition of our efforts in areas like Brownsville and El Paso.”

“In the federal government’s absence, we, as Governors, must band together to combat President Biden’s ongoing border crisis and ensure the safety and security that all Americans deserve,” wrote Abbott.

The Texas governor said President Biden systematically dismantled border security, and “further jeopardized our nation’s security by ending Title 42 expulsions on May 11, 2023.”

Title 42 was a border management policy first enacted under the Trump administration, which on paper was prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, but it functionally served to diminish asylum claims at the southwest border.

Biden administration officials had warned the end of Title 42 would bring a significant rise in encounters between border officials and migrants, and many in the GOP had painted an apocalyptic image of a post-Title 42 border.

Instead, after a rise in encounters came in the days preceding the end of Title 42, encounters dropped by 50 percent from their peak in the days immediately following the policy’s sunset, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Advocates say that drop was primarily due to migrants pausing to understand the new rules and avail themselves of the complex pathways to asylum provided by the Biden administration.

But Abbott took credit for the drop in crossings.

“Without the historic efforts Texas has deployed to respond to President Biden’s derelictions of duty, the end of Title 42 expulsions would have been significantly worse. Because of Texas’ surge in border security strategies and resources, including miles of additional razor wire barriers, illegal border encounters decreased significantly from last week’s highs,” wrote Abbott. 

Still, an uneasy calm has replaced Title 42 panic, with tens of thousands of asylum-seekers from all over the world stuck on the Mexican side of the border waiting for an opportunity to stake their claim in the United States.

In his letter, Abbott attributed the bottleneck to the end of Title 42, though most border experts say Title 42 was one of the primary reasons for the congestion at the border.

“With the end of Title 42 expulsions, President Biden’s own administration estimates that at least 150,000 migrants are waiting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border and enter our country illegally. The flood of illegal border activity invited by the Biden Administration flows directly across the southern border into Texas communities, but this crisis does not stop in our state,” he warned.

Abbot called on other states to make use of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact “in the mission to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity and send all available law enforcement personnel and resources to the Texas-Mexico border to serve alongside our thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers.”

He praised states like Idaho and Florida, who have already pledged resources for border security in Texas.

“I thank these states for proactively addressing this crisis and request other states follow their lead in helping to secure America’s border,” wrote Abbott.