A candidate in the Texas gubernatorial race criticized incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbot for failing to protect Texans from illegal migration in a statement Tuesday evening.
Gubernatorial challenger Don Huffines said if he’s elected governor he plans to deploy the entirety of the 20,000 Texas National Guardsmen to the border, finish former President Donald Trump’s border wall and will place economic pressure on Mexico in an attempt to quell cartel activity, according to a statement. Abbott announced plans for the state to build its own border wall on June 16, while blaming the Biden administration for an increasing number of migrants arriving at the southern border.
“Our federal government has proven they do not intend to secure the Texas border and never will,” Huffines said in a statement. “Meanwhile, it’s clear Greg Abbott is incapable and unwilling to take the steps necessary to keep Texans safe.”
“Our state is under invasion. Thousands of illegal aliens have entered and are continuing to enter Texas under his watch,” he said. “When I am governor, that will end.”
I am proud to officially release my Border Security plan.
It’s time to finally close the border. We cannot wait any longer.
Read my plan here: https://t.co/qyTEOk50r9
— Don Huffines (@DonHuffines) July 6, 2021
Huffines said if elected, he will use constitutional provisions to “defend Texas from invasion,” according to the statement. He added that the solution to the border crisis is in ending “taxpayer-funded handouts” that incentivize illegal migration to the U.S.
“Mexican narco-terrorist cartels are at the heart of the border crisis,” Huffines said in a statement. He added that most migrants pay cartels to smuggle them into the U.S. (RELATED: Trump Says Southern Border Is ‘More Dangerous Than It’s Ever Been’ Under Biden)
Border officials encountered over 180,000 migrants at the southern border in May, although most encounters resulted in rapid expulsions under a Trump-era public health order known as Title 42, according to Customs and Border Protection.
Huffines proposed reallocating $4 to $5 billion spent on education services for illegal migrants towards border wall construction, initially focused on building the wall in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, according to a statement.
Huffines did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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