As Abbott Takes Measures Against Illegals, White House Tries to Blame Him For ‘Chaos’

Since Democrat Joe Biden took office in January 2021, Republicans have repeatedly faulted him for the US immigration crisis, particularly citing his abandonment of hardline Trump-era border enforcement tactics.

The White House has accused Republican Texas Government Greg Abbott of prompting chaos at the US southern border, while also warning states against interfering in enforcement of immigration restrictions.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that Abbott “has a track record of causing chaos and confusion at the border.”

The statement followed Abbott issuing an executive order on Thursday that allows Texas law enforcement, including National Guard and the Department of Public Safety, to return illegal immigrants apprehended in the state back to the US-Mexican border entry points.

The order was issued despite the fact that the federal government is normally responsible for enforcement of immigration law. Critics, however, claim the Biden Administration is sitting on its hands and doing little to tackle the soaring number of border arrivals, which hit a third-consecutive monthly record high in May, when Border Patrol agents apprehended 239,416 illegal migrants, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Governor Abbott stressed that while US President Joe Biden “refuses to do his job and enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress, the State of Texas is once again stepping up and taking unprecedented action to protect Americans and secure” the US southern border.

The governor referred to the US Constitution, which he said stipulates that the country “shall protect each [State in this Union] against [a border] invasion.”

The total number of illegal migrants detained on the southern border since October is 1.5 million with four more months left this fiscal year, something that sets the Biden administration on pace to have another yearly record of illegal entries in the area.

CBP data showed that the Biden administration witnessed a 20-year record high of 1.7 million illegal migrants apprehended on the southern border in 2021.

Shortly after assuming office in January 2021, POTUS decided to reverse the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies, specifically halting construction of a border wall, moving to end "harsh and extreme immigration enforcement," and promising to "restore and expand" the asylum system.

Earlier this year, Trump berated Biden for “eroding” the successful system that the 45th US president had put in place, claiming that his migration-related policies "were working better than they have ever seen on the southern border”.