Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) during a Wednesday event in New York City criticized Democrats' attempts to blame him for New York's migrant crisis, saying, "The lead importer of migrants to New York is not Texas, it's Joe Biden."
Abbott said that New York's influx of illegal immigrants is "unsustainable," but he sharply disagreed with Democrats who say his decision to bus migrants to New York is causing the problem. The Biden administration, the governor said, is not using its "authority to 'repel' migrants at the border," leaving Texas to enforce immigration laws, the Associated Press reported.
The crisis worsened after the Biden administration in May allowed border security measure Title 42 to lapse. Two months later, Biden's Justice Department sued Texas for setting up a barrier in the Rio Grande to block migrants from crossing the river.
The Border Patrol is logging roughly 8,000 migrant crossings per day, the highest number in U.S. history, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Until Biden enforces the laws, Abbott said, "Texas is going to continue to use every tool that we can to secure the border the best that we can."
Texas last week bused more migrants to New York, prompting criticism from New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. So far, Texas has sent 15,800 migrants to the Big Apple since spring 2022, according to the AP.
Abbott said that New York is experiencing only a fraction of Texas's migrant crisis. "What is going on in New York is calm and organized compared to the real chaos of what we see on the border," the governor said.
The crisis has prompted New York Democrats to turn hawkish on immigration. Adams said this month that unrestricted migration "will destroy New York City," while Gov. Kathy Hochul told immigrants to "go somewhere else" other than the Empire State.