Texas Gov. Abbott says Biden policies 'emboldened the cartels'

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On the same day that President Joe Biden arrived in Texas for his first trip to the US-Mexico border since taking office, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott delivered a scathing letter to the president criticizing his border policies.

Abbott slammed the president's visit in his letter as "$20 billion too little and two years too late." He also pointed out that the president's tour avoids areas with high levels of illegal immigration, as well as "thousands of angry Texas property owners whose lives have been destroyed by your border policies."

Hand-delivered a letter to President Biden today during his first visit to the border.

His trip is $20 billion too little & 2 years too late.

I’m calling on Biden to do his constitutional duty to protect our nation. pic.twitter.com/cy8xgh5EJ2

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 8, 2023

"Even the city you visit has been sanitized of the migrant camps which had overrun downtown El Paso because your administration wants to shield you from the chaos that Texans experience on a daily basis," Abbott wrote, explaining that the chaos was the direct result of the Biden administration failing to enforce federal immigration laws. 

Abbott said the federal government achieved "historically low levels of illegal immigration" under former President Donald Trump. But under the Biden administration, Abbott said, "America is suffering the worst illegal immigration in the history of our country." 

Hundreds of #migrants, including children, who were denied entry into the #UnitedStates have been left to fend for themselves on the streets in subzero temperatures. pic.twitter.com/CCNG6fmLQR

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 4, 2023

"Your open-border policies have emboldened the cartels, who grow wealthy by trafficking deadly fentanyl and even human beings," he said. "Texans are paying an especially high price for your failure, sometimes with their very lives, as local leaders from your own party will tell you if given the chance."

Abbott implored Biden to enforce federal immigration laws already on the books and to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Biden's visit is 'for show'

Speaking to reporters later Sunday, Abbott said Biden’s border visit is "nothing but for show unless [the administration] begins to enforce the immigration laws already that exist in the United States of America that are contained in the letter that was provided to the president today."

The governor said that in response to Abbott, the president said, "he wanted to work with us on it."

Biden planned to spend a few hours in El Paso, which is currently the busiest crossing point for Nicaraguans fleeing repression, crime, and poverty in their home country. They are among four countries' migrants who are now subject to immediate deportation under new rules enacted by the Biden administration last week, which drew harsh criticism from immigration advocates.