Texas “Governor Abbott Statement On Unaccompanied Minor Crisis Created By Biden Administration”

Photo courtesy of Office of the Texas Governor website

Texas Governor Greg Abbott yesterday issued a statement on what his office characterized as “the unaccompanied minor humanitarian crisis created by the Biden Administration’s failed immigration policies”:

“The Biden Administration’s reckless open border policies have created a humanitarian crisis for unaccompanied minors coming across the border. With no plan in place, the administration has created heartbreaking and inhumane conditions for children who are being held in Texas. We have no idea if these children are being reunited with their families through DNA testing or other means, or if they have been victims of human trafficking.

“As the Governor of Texas, my responsibility is the health and safety of our citizens, and the Biden Administration’s lack of planning has created a public health and safety emergency in our communities. Is the federal government tracking what countries these children are coming from and what COVID-19 variants they might have been exposed to? How long will these children be held in Texas? Are these children receiving COVID-19 tests, and how is the Biden Administration handling those who test positive? Is the federal government conducting contact tracing and following CDC quarantine protocols? The answers to these questions affect the health and safety of our communities, and Texans deserve answers. But more than that, the American people deserve action from this administration. Texas is putting President Biden on notice that his policies are risking the health and safety of Texans and putting children at risk from cartels and human traffickers.” (bold added).

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There, of course, are pressing humanitarian issues to address along the U.S./Mexico border.  But to say that this issues are a result of “open border policies” is simply wrong.  No major party political leader to my knowledge is calling for “open borders.”  Rather, the “open borders” mantra is something that Republican politicians invoke to attack immigration policies that they do not like.

Democrats have another explanation for the current situation at the border.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC News’ “This Week” that the policies of the Trump administration, which radically transformed immigration enforcement from 2017-21, are to blame for the recent increase in unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border, 

“This is a humanitarian challenge to all of us,” Pelosi said. “What the administration has inherited is a broken system at the border and they are working to correct that in the children’s interests.”  

To address humanitarian concerns, Homeland Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support an effort over the next 90 days to safely shelter unaccompanied children who make the dangerous journey to the U.S./Mexico border.

KJ