Another high-profile trip to the great state of Texas in the span of a few days – who would’ve thunk it? Unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, who many say only headed south after the activist media began to turn sour and who stayed away from the actual problem areas, former President Trump visited the Rio Grande sector with other Republicans. The Rio Grande sector is the hardest hit with criminal crossings. Trump went directly to the front lines to visit with residents and tour the towns of Weslaco and Granjeno on the southern tip of the U.S./Mexico border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott invited Trump on this foray to the border, and the trip was timed to coincide with a congressional delegation from the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) in the region to document the reality of illegal migrant processes and pathways. RSC members, led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), hiked into dangerous desert terrain to talk with asylum seekers – most of whom were minors. As Banks released in a statement, “President Trump spent four years fixing the border. But the Biden administration broke it again, and we are now experiencing the worst border crisis in our history.” Banks went further, calling the crisis a “national embarrassment.”
Democrats, including the “border czar,” are still looking for the “root causes” everywhere but at the border.
Attention Please: Border Crisis Ahead
During the day, Trump and Abbott jointly held a roundtable discussion with the RSC, former Trump officials, former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan, and former acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. A widescreen to the right of the podium flashed photos of illegal immigrants crossing through border sections without any barrier or deterrent.
Both leaders gave remarks. Mr. Abbott spoke of how the former president took hold of a national security issue and began to turn it around. That “Trump was there for Texas whenever I called.” A rehash of Texas taking on the border wall where the Trump administration left off gave a positive outlook of the state's efforts. Abbott praised his law enforcement officers for recently apprehending 1,800 criminals and busting 41 fentanyl stash houses.
The audience was friendly territory for Mr. Trump. After the panel spoke in turn, Trump addressed the group, praising efforts and saying, “we once had the best border in history.” Trump also talked of the “disinformation campaign” by Democrats who blame the current insurgence on “Texas county sheriffs.” He then pointed out this entire situation could have been avoided had the wall been completed.
“Right now, we are going to go to the real border – not the border where you look around and everything is fine,” Trump said in a point-blank shot at the vice president, who steered clear of the problematic areas and stayed in El Paso. Instead, Trump and Abbott went to Granjeno, just outside of McAllen, TX, to speak with locals and those awaiting asylum decisions.
Ah, the Naysayers
Of course, not everyone was thrilled with the former president’s visit. Remember Rep. Filemón Vela (D-TX)? In 2016, he told Trump to “take your border wall and shove it up your a----.” Well, not to his face: Vela let the media deliver that message. But, as you may surmise, he was nearly apoplectic at the former president being inside his beloved state of Texas. He ranted a bit to The Hill, saying, “The border is not a war zone,” and that the wall is “also an un-American symbol of hatred.”
Border Czar Kamala Harris has not issued a public comment on the day’s events.
But Do They Want a Wall?
Democrats claim Texans do not want a wall. Yet when Governor Abbott declared his intent to reassign $250 million from state coffers and seek donations, the Lone Star State responded in kind. Already, public contributions have exceeded $450,000 in a few weeks, and money is still coming through crowdfunding.
After a record 270,000 illegal border crossers have been detained in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector this year, residents seem to welcome the governor’s plan.
As Trump said, “we have no nation without a secure border.” Well, it looks as if Texas is once again showing America how to be American.
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Read more from Sarah Cowgill.
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