Global Courant 2023-05-09 14:23:23
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state is taking border security into its own hands after pleas to the Biden administration went unanswered.
In a video shared on Twitter late Monday night, the Republican governor showed border officials in Brownsville, Texas, laying barbed wire over an opening in the border that had previously been exposed for migrants seeking to enter the United States from Mexico.
“This is one thing Texas is doing to secure the border,” Abbott wrote. “This is the area near Brownsville where migrants crossed in large numbers a few days ago.”
In the video, the person carrying the camera and a flashlight walks briskly along the border and turns to reveal hundreds of feet of the spiral wiring. In some areas, the wiring is stacked to create a dividing wall several feet high.
BORDER PATROL UNION CRITICAL FEDS AFTER ‘WARNING’ SENT FOR MIGRANT ‘ENFORCEMENT’ IN TEXAS
Texas Governor Greg Abbott shared a video of newly laid barbed wire in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Abbott added: “We’ve closed it off now. Other areas will come up to cross over. We’ll close them off as well.”
“There’s more to come,” the Texas governor promised.
Barbed wire appears to be only a minor deterrent to those seeking to enter the US illegally. Photos and videos in various parts of the border show migrants crossing barbed wire using blankets and clothing to cover sharp edges.
CBP, ICE START ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES IN EL PASO AS MIGRANTS INCREASE BEFORE END OF TITLE 42
The barbed barricade comes as the Biden administration has failed to provide congressional funds approved under the Trump administration to bolster border security.
Several border states have complained that the federal government has also failed to help them close critical gaps in areas along the border.
National Guard agents erect a barbed wire wall on March 8, 2023 on the banks of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, on the border with Ciudad Juarez, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. (HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Border crossings have escalated in recent weeks and migrants have gathered by the thousands near various sections of the wall, including in El Paso, in anticipation of Title 42 expiring on Thursday.
Title 42 is a public health order signed in 2020 under former President Donald Trump, and its expiration is expected to give way to a wave of migrants.
FOX NEWS FOOTAGE OF HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS CROSSING TEXAS AS THE END OF TITLE 42 APPROACHES
The order gave border officials the power to refuse or move migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The White House recently said it would veto a border enforcement bill passed by the Republican House majority that would limit asylum applications and build a physical border wall.
“Biden opposes border security laws,” Abbott also tweeted Monday.
President Biden speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “For the past 2 years, #OperationLoneStar has helped fill the dangerous gaps left by Biden’s open border policy. Biden has halted or withdrawn any effective border security strategy.”
“As he closes Title 42 on Thursday, Texas will continue our historic response to this crisis,” the Texan Republican said.
Border officials in Brownsville, Texas installed barbed wire to close a gap in the US-Mexico border. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In addition to the number of migrants crossing the border, Abbott and Republicans in border states have railed against the prevalence of the deadly fentanyl, which enters the US primarily from Mexico.
In the past two years alone, more than 385 million lethal doses have been seized by border officials during Operation Lone Star in Texas.
