Governor Greg Abbott says Texas will not support a plan by the Department of Homeland Security to change how migrants seeking asylum are processed. The agency announced the plans Thursday, saying they would "enhance security" and "streamline asylum processing."
DHS says the change would let agents block some asylum seekers earlier in the process. The agency says few migrants would be subject to the change, but the rule would "enable DHS to more quickly remove those who are subject to the bars and pose a risk to our national security or public safety."
DHS says the change would let asylum officers use initial screening to decide whether evidence shows the migrant should be barred from entering the United States because of terrorism, national security or criminal issues.
"The proposed rule we have published today is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a statement.
Mayorkas says DHS is taking action, but only Congress can "fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system.”
Governor Greg Abbott has responded, saying the Biden Administration "inherited the most secure border with the lowest illegal immigration since last century."
Abbott says the president has since "opened the border" to more than 11 million illegal immigrants from 150 countries.
"To be clear, President Biden’s feckless proposals, which he could have done years ago, do nothing to slow the record-breaking illegal immigration. Most notably, President Biden sidesteps actually enforcing the laws already enacted by Congress. President Biden is not just authorized—he is required—to deny illegal entry, detain illegal immigrants, and build border barriers," Abbott wrote in an email sent by his office.
Abbott's office says "Operation Lone Star," which deployed the Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety to the border in March 2021, has now led to 510,600 apprehensions, 42,500 criminal arrests and 37,700 felony charges.
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