Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey have announced the formation of a task force that will "disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations." A total of 26 governors, all Republicans, have signed on to participate in the "Border Strike Force."
"Due to President Biden’s disastrous border policies, dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue flooding our communities with drugs while reaping billions of dollars from human smuggling and causing a record breaking number of apprehensions at the Southern Border," they wrote in a letter announcing the formation of the group.
They say they will share information about investigations and coordinate enforcement efforts on interstates. They will also place intelligence analysts and send additional law enforcement to border states.
The letter says the agreement will direct law enforcement to "disrupt and dismantle cartels." The governors say they will monitor cybersecurity issues and target cartels' finances.
Wednesday morning, Abbott said a seventh bus of migrants was going to be dropped off in Washington D.C. Abbott started sending buses to Washington last week. In each case, migrants had been released into Texas and agreed to be dropped off in Washington.
Abbott started sending buses in response to President Joe Biden's plan to end Title 42 expulsions May 23. Title 42 was invoked in 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19 and limited the ability of people from other countries to request asylum.
The Biden Administration has said it is preparing for an increase in migrants when the policy expires.
The last major update to immigration laws was 1978. Bills failed in 2007 and 2013.
George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox had started discussing an immigration reform measure that would have included a guest worker program shortly after Bush took office.
"It was something that was starting to make its way in Congress and then we had the very unfortunate event of September 11th, which killed the sentiment toward immigration," says Sanjay Mathur, whose law firm in Dallas handles immigration cases.
Mathur says he is hearing from both people facing deportation and business owners seeking legal counsel trying to fill open jobs.
"I get calls from employers saying, 'I'd like to bring in more workers. I own an irrigation company' or 'I own a construction company,'" he says.
Mathur says Congress will need to act to update laws, saying immigrants are filling open jobs in trades while also trying to escape cartels and violence in their home countries.
"What we're seeing is desperation," he says. "We have to find a way to meet our needs, first and foremost, because we have to protect our own country but also satisfy the needs of others in a way that complements us, and a guest worker program is the answer to that."
He urges people to contact their Congressmen and Senators to encourage them to pass an immigration reform measure.
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