ABC’s Raddatz Confronts TX Gov. Abbott in Testy Exchange on Immigration: It’s You, Trump and DeSantis Talking About ‘Open Borders,’ Not Biden
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz pressed Texas Governor Greg Abbott on whether he and other Republicans are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by constantly criticizing the “open borders” of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Raddatz interviewed Abbott for This Week, where they talked about the border crisis and the pandemonium the governor expects from the push to repeal Title 42. The Biden administration has been moving to repeal the Trump-era immigration policy, which granted the U.S. powers to quickly expel immigrants and asylum-seekers because of health concerns from the coronavirus pandemic.
In a tense exchange, Raddatz grilled Abbott on whether conservatives are exacerbating the border crisis by suggesting that as Biden’s critics complain about his border policies, migrants take notice of everyone who repeatedly describes the border as open and unsecured.
“You talk about the border wall, you talk about open borders,” said Raddatz. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard President Biden say ‘We have an open border, come on over.’ But people I have heard say it are you, are former President Trump, Ron DeSantis. That message reverberates in Mexico and beyond. So they do get the message that it is an open border and smugglers use all those kinds of statements.”
Abbott responded arguing “It was known from the time that Joe Biden got elected that Joe Biden supported open borders.”
“It’s known by the cartels who have sophisticated information whether or not the Biden administration is going to enforce the immigration laws or not is known across the world but most importantly known among the cartels,” he added.
“How do you play into that?” Raddatz followed up. “What can you do better?”
“We have every level of government doing everything we can to prevent people from coming into the country illegally,” Abbott said, “or are repelling them or are arresting them and putting them behind bars.”
Watch above via ABC.
