Texas Governor Abbott Declares State of Emergency on the Border, Plans to Jail Illegal Migrants

Governor Abbott announced that individuals who enter Texas illegally will be subject to arrest for trespassing. This order builds upon the Governor’s emergency declaration that directs the Texas Department of Public Safety to enforce all federal and state criminal laws for criminal trespassing, illegal entry, smuggling, and human trafficking. He also said that the border barrier will be expanded, especially in areas where it is easy to cross at the Rio Grand River. Immigration is under the jurisdiction of Congress and the federal government, but the Biden administration has essentially opened the border, so Texas, Arizona and other states are stepping up to stem the flow of mass migration into the US. In May 2020, Del Rio Sector agents apprehended 2,289 migrants, which exploded to 27,890 migrant apprehensions in May 2021, an increase of 1,118%.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Breitbart Texas the State will immediately begin building border barriers in areas where migrants can easily cross the Rio Grande border with Mexico. The barriers will, in part, enable state law enforcement to arrest migrants for violations of state law.

Abbott said Texas will immediately begin construction of border barriers in areas like Del Rio where migrants can easily cross unsecured sections. The governor picked Del Rio as the location for his  announcement due to the massive increases in illegal border crossings in this region. Del Rio Sector agents apprehended 27,890 migrants — a 1,118 percent increase over the May 2020 report of 2,289, Breitbart Texas reported on Thursday.

“The influx across the border is out of control, and the Biden Administration has shown that is not going to step up and do its job,” Governor Abbott told Breitbart Texas shortly before the public announcement on Thursday. “And amidst reports of even more people coming in across the border, we know we have to step up and do more.”

“The reason why we are here (Del Rio) is because of the massive increase,” the governor stated. Border crossings used to be highly “concentrated in the Rio Grande Valley,” he explained. “Now, you know we’re upstream from the Rio Grande Valley in the Del Rio Sector and the Del Rio sector is suffering from some of the largest increases.”

He said they are hearing from local residents and elected and law enforcement officials that they are seeing things they have never seen before.

“They’re seeing a lot of very bad dangerous people come across the border,” Abbott continued. “People that they are afraid of encountering, people who are causing damage to their fences, their livestock, their crops, their neighborhoods, and their homes.”

“Bad things are happening around here, and so they need help from the state to help them address this exploding crisis.”

The governor said authorities will use existing authorities under a State of Emergency declaration to crack down on those illegally crossing the border.

“What people have seen in videos across the country seems to be the Biden Administration welcoming these people to the United States,” Abbott stated. “We won’t be sending that message.”

Instead, the governor said, “If you come to Texas, you’re subject to being arrested. You’re not going to have a pathway to roam the country. You’re going to have a pathway directly into a jail cell.”

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Additional source:  https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-hosts-border-security-summit-announces-comprehensive-border-security-plan-to-crack-down-on-unlawful-border-crossings