Immigration
DHS Secretary Mayorkas visits Texas Border Patrol agents, says Gov. Abbott's actions 'wreak havoc'
The visit to the border comes after Mayorkas criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s actions against undocumented immigration
August 26, 2022 8:24am
Updated: August 26, 2022 12:08pm
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas on Thursday to meet with Border Patrol agents as a record-breaking number of migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border, reported Fox News.
Mayorkas met with the border patrol agents at Shelby Park, where the agency often launches boats for operations.
However, the DHS secretary did not elaborate on the visit or take questions from media outlets, according to Fox News.
The visit to the border comes after Mayorkas criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s actions against undocumented immigration, including increasing the number of public safety officials around border communities, during an interview with the San Antonio Express-News.
"[W]hen we work with DPS, in coordination with DPS, they are of tremendous assistance to us," Mayorkas told the Express-News’ editorial board. "When state officials work unilaterally and do not coordinate and collaborate with us, it can actually wreak havoc."
To push back against the nation’s immigration policies and growing border crisis, Abbott has been sending busloads of migrants from the border to Washington, D.C. and New York City.
"Texas has also bused over 7,000 migrants to our nation's capital since April and over 900 migrants to New York City since August 5," Abbott's office said in a release Friday. "The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities."
While the number of human smuggling operations has increased recently, Mayorkas said this was an issue that should be solved through international cooperation, not through Abbott’s approach.
"We’re working very closely with our partners to the south and Mexico. On this, we have brought, I think, over 4,000 prosecutions between our two countries. I think the attack on the smuggling organizations is what we need to continue, and to continue to escalate."
Mayorkas' visit comes as an unprecedented number of migrants are crossing the U.S-Mexico border. In the 10 months of the current fiscal year, border officials apprehended 1.74 million migrants, breaking last year’s records.