Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas claimed on Sunday while speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is intentionally “trying to wreak havoc in other cities and states across the country,” and that Abbott could “not be more wrong” about immigration policy. Abbott’s approach “is not a model of governance,” Mayorkas said.
Anchor Dana Bash set up the question with a clip of Abbott criticizing President Joe Biden for saying he needs Congress to pass a bill to solve the emergency unfolding on the nation’s southern border with Mexico, “I want you to listen to what the Texas Governor Greg Abbott told me on the show about the idea of whether or not legislation is needed. Take a listen.”
BREAKING: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accuses Texas Governor Greg Abbott of trying to wreak havoc and create chaos locally and in other states and cities. pic.twitter.com/EMMo9DAHdf
— Craig R. Brittain (@RealBrittain) March 3, 2024
In the clip played by Bash, Abbott said, “The fact that the matter is there are laws on the books passed by Congress of the United States right now that authorize the executive branch to deny illegal entry. The president does not need new laws. The president needs a backbone to make sure that he said he enforces the immigration laws that are already on the books.”
“Couldn’t be more wrong, couldn’t be more wrong,” Mayorkas replied. “As a matter of fact, former President Trump tried to close the border and it was enjoined in the courts and never saw the light of day.”
“This coming from an individual who is purposefully refusing to coordinate, communicate, collaborate with other officials, and trying to wreak havoc in other cities and states across the country. That is not a model of governance and he couldn’t be more wrong,” the Homeland Security secretary claimed.
“We encountered a historic number of individuals at the southern border in December of 2023. Mexico had seized its enforcement operations and its enforcement agency had been unfunded. President Biden reached out to President López Obrador of Mexico and spoke of the need for enforcement to resume,” Mayorkas continued.
“Then he dispatched Secretary Blinken and me to meet with our Mexican counterparts and echo that important message,” the secretary added. “Mexico did and the numbers in January of this year dropped more than 50%. So there are things that we can do.”
