ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz pressed Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) on his criticisms for President Joe Biden's handling of the border crisis because she has never heard Biden say "'we have an open border.'"
The crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is expected to get worse once Title 42 expires on Wednesday. The public health order allowed Border Patrol to quickly expel illegal immigrants during the COVDI-19 pandemic. Republicans want to keep it in place amid historically high illegal crossings but immigration advocates say it violates people's rights to claim asylum.
"You talk about the border wall, you talk about open borders, I don’t think I’ve ever heard President Biden say, ‘We have an open border, come on over.’ But people I have heard say it are you, are former President Trump, Ron DeSantis. That message reverberates in Mexico and beyond," Raddatz said. "So, they do get the message that it’s an open border, and smugglers use all those kind of statements.”
“It was known from the time that Joe Biden got elected that Joe Biden supported open borders," Abbott replied. "It is known by the cartels who have sophisticated information. Whether or not the Biden Administration is going to enforce the immigration laws or not is known across the world, but most importantly, known among the cartels.”
"And how do you play into that? What can you do better?" Raddatz asked.
"So, we have every level of government doing everything we can to prevent people from coming into the country illegally or repelling them or arresting them and putting them behind bars," Abbott explained.
Biden promised on the campaign trail he would reverse several of then-President Donald Trump's immigration policies, such as getting of the Migrant Protection Protocols, stop construction of the border wall, and to stop all deportations for his first 100 days in office. Once he became president, Biden has made good or attempted to follow through on his campaign promises.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas similarly accused Abbott of making the border crisis worse through the busing program the state of Texas has been conducting, where volunteers board free buses to sanctuary cities to relieve pressure off of border towns.