Abbott’s immigration rhetoric criticized again after interview response about shooting migrants – By Uriel J Garcia (Texas Tribune) / Jan 12, 2024
Asked how far Texas could legally go to secure the border, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state isn’t shooting people who illegally cross the border because the Biden administration would charge officials with murder.
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During a radio interview last week, Gov. Greg Abbott said that Texas has used every tool to control the border short of ordering officers to shoot migrants crossing over illegally, once again drawing concerns about the potential impact of his rhetoric around immigration.
“The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder,” Abbott said during the Jan. 5 radio interview with Dana Loesch, a former editor at Breitbart News and spokesperson for the National Rifle Association.
His comment came after Loesch asked Abbott: “But for the people who don’t live in border states, explain the hierarchy and the process. Like what can be done like right up to the line, where maybe they would come and say, ‘Governor, you’re breaking the law, we got to arrest you for trying to enforce the law at the border.’ Like what is the maximum amount of pressure that you as governor can implement to protect the border?”
Abbott responded: “We are using every tool that can be used, from building a border wall to building these border barriers, to passing this law that I signed that led to another lawsuit by the Biden administration, where I signed a law making it illegal for somebody to enter Texas from another country. And they’re subject to arrest and subject to deportation.
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