On Friday, the White House fired back at the GOP governor of Texas for giving orders to state military and law enforcement forces to apprehend and bring anyone believed to be unlawfully crossing the United States through Mexico back to the southern border.
Executive Order
On Thursday afternoon, Governor Greg Abbott, who’s running for reelection in November and intends to seek another term, approved one new executive order.
The order authorizes personnel of the Texas National Guard and officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety to take unauthorized immigrants into custody if they are found between entry points.
It then tells this personnel to transfer unauthorized immigrants to the border.
I issued an Executive Order authorizing the Texas National Guard & Texas Dept. of Public Safety to return illegal immigrants to the border.
Cartels have become emboldened by Biden's open border policies.
Texas is taking unprecedented action to STOP this criminal enterprise. pic.twitter.com/ag08ACYP3Y
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 7, 2022
However, the administration of President Joe Biden does not approve of that.
In answer to a question from a reporter, the press secretary at the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, stated the federal government is in charge of immigration enforcement.
“It is not the business of the states to mandate it or interfere with it. Particularly the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who has a proven track record of creating disorder and uncertainty at the border.”
Since the beginning of the president’s term in office in early 2021, Abbott and Biden have engaged in a back-and-forth on various border issues.
In April, the White House criticized Abbott’s investigation plan at the Mexican border and called his scheme to shuttle migrants to Washington a media stunt.
In response, the governor of Texas has been very critical of Biden’s immigration policies. Most recently, he placed the blame on Biden for the casualties of more than 50 migrants who were found inside of an 18-wheeler.
In the most recent instance, Abbott stated he made the rash decision to act after 5,000 undocumented migrants were detained while unlawfully entering Texas from Mexico during the course of the holiday weekend.
Formal Response?
In a statement, Governor Abbott said, “Even as President Biden continues to refuse to do his job and start enforcing the immigration policies enacted by Congress, Texas is again going to take unparalleled measures to safeguard Americans and our southern border.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order to return all illegal immigrants to the border was necessary because President Joe Biden and his administration are doing "absolutely nothing" to ease the crisis, Brandon Judd said on Newsmax Friday.https://t.co/c11pnLxuGE
— Newsmax (@newsmax) July 8, 2022
During the media briefing, Jean-Pierre was questioned about the potential for opposing parties to take legal action in response to the decision.
The reporter posed the following question to the government: “I was curious if the presidency is considering any formal response and if you’ll restrict the National Guard from engaging.”
Jean-Pierre did not provide an answer that was straight to the topic, but she did emphasize the matter is dealt with at the federal level.
When it comes to anything having to do with the law, Jean-Pierre advised them to contact the Department of Justice. However, the federal government is in charge of immigration law enforcement.
