Controlling The Border Is A Challenge. Texas Gov. Abbott's Crackdown Is Proving That
The Mexico-U.S. border in Texas is again the backdrop for a set of hardline policies designed to discourage migrants from crossing the Rio Grande. This time, the instigator is Gov. Greg Abbott—a 63-year-old Republican running for his third term as Texas governor, who's hoping tough talk on immigrants will capture Trump's fanatical followers in Texas.
"We're not playing games anymore," Abbott said recently on Fox News. "And we have a new program in place because the Biden Administration plan is to catch and release. The Texas plan is to catch and to jail."
Abbott has launched a border crackdown that is strikingly similar to former president Trump's harsh immigration agenda. It's called "Operation Lone Star," and includes jailing asylum seekers, making disaster declarations and building a border wall. It goes even further. Abbott ordered his state highway patrol to interdict any vehicles—even commercial buses—suspected of carrying unauthorized migrants, though that action has been blocked by a federal judge.
Critics say some of the
