Tipsheet

Mayorkas: 'Sad' Abbott Isn't Rolling Out the Red Carpet for the Thousands of Migrants Arriving in Texas

As Title 42 ends, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is upset that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is not rolling out the red carpet and popping champagne for the thousands of migrants who crossed over the border into Texas illegally. 

Mayorkas said that it's "very sad and tragic" that Abbott is sending border crossers to different parts of the country to keep his state safe from the dangerous implications illegal migrants can bring with them. 

During an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," co-host George Stephanopoulos pointed out that Abbott is shipping the illegal migrants elsewhere because the governor believes the Biden Administration is not doing its job. 

In response, Mayorkas said, "George, it is a very sad and tragic day when a government official uses human beings as pawns to score political points. Objection." 

On Thursday, Abbott sent two busloads of at least 70 border crossers to Vice President Kamala Harris's Washington, D.C., residence in hopes the Biden Administration will finally step up and do something about the ongoing border crisis that it has chosen to ignore for two years. 

Earlier this week, Abbott tweeted that Texas has bussed more than 17,000 illegal migrants to "sanctuary cities" and that more than 9,200 went to D.C. 

The Republican governor criticized the Biden Administration for leaving a "welcome mat" at the southern border amid expectations that it will see a historic surge. 

Abbott argued against Mayorkas' claims that the border is closed and secure, saying, "Everything that Mayorkas said is just a flat-out lie or total ignorance. He says that the border is closed. Everybody in America knows that the border is not closed. It's more open." 

Title 42, a Trump-era policy permitting Border Patrol agents to send illegal migrants back to their home country without having an asylum hearing, is set to expire, causing thousands to enter the U.S. Some of the illegal migrants that have been let into the country have been given immigration court dates set for a decade away.