AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to rehire any Border Patrol agent punished by the Biden administration after the president condemned images of agents on horseback aggressively blocking Haitian migrants at the Texas-Mexico border.
Abbott made the comments on Sunday, after Fox News host Chris Wallace asked the governor about the images. Abbott said the Biden administration was to blame for the situation.
“They wouldn’t have been in that situation had the Biden administration enforced the immigration laws,” Abbott said. “If he takes any action against them whatsoever – I have worked side by side with those Border Patrol agents – I want them to know something. If they are at risk of losing their job by a president who is abandoning his duty to secure the border, you have a job in the state of Texas. I will hire you to help Texas secure our border.”
Horse patrols were temporarily suspended this week, the Department of Homeland Security said, and Border Patrol will “prioritize other methods for identifying individuals who might be in medical distress.” Border Patrol describes its horse patrol as a program to cover areas traditional units cannot go.
DHS tweeted that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investigating.
The Del Rio border crossing, where thousands of Haitian migrants converged in recent weeks, was partially reopened late Saturday afternoon after being completely cleared on Friday. Many of the migrants were seeking asylum in the U.S.
The Justice Department has already sued Abbott and the State of Texas, accusing the governor of exceeding his authority in response to the international border. But Abbott said the administration has “left Texas in no position other than for us to step up and do what we have to do.”
“I'm going to step up and do whatever I have to do to make sure that I protect the people of Del Rio as well as all these other communities in the state of Texas that the Biden administration is ignoring,” he said.
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