'We Are Going to Act in His Absence': Republican Governors Gather at Southern Border, Excoriate Biden

While President Joe Biden continues to dither, red-state leaders are stepping up.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott returned to the southern border Wednesday afternoon, alongside nine fellow Republican state chief executives to discuss the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.

Joined by Govs. Mike DeWine (Ohio), Doug Ducey (Ariz.), Greg Gianforte (Mont.), Mark Gordon (Wyo.), Brian Kemp (Ga.), Brad Little (Idaho), Kim Reynolds (Iowa), Pete Ricketts (Neb.), and Kevin Stitt (Okla.), Abbott made his third visit to a border community in just over two weeks.

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This avoidable crisis was created by Joe Biden, and only the federal government has the authority and resources to end it, but Biden refuses.pic.twitter.com/C35I2xGJky

— The RGA (@GOPGovs) October 6, 2021

The event was held in Mission, just across the Rio Grande from Reynosa, Mexico, a few hundred miles upriver from Del Rio, where more than 15,000 refugees crossed and set up squalid camps on the U.S. side last month.

Abbott, who plans to seek a third term in 2022, worked with Texas lawmakers to allocate more than $3 billion in state money for border security measures, while thousands of National Guard and security officers formed a barrier to finally shut down the invasion on Del Rio.

Border apprehensions are up 500 percent this year, and Border Patrol facilities are beyond maximum capacity.

Twenty-six governors who worked together to develop specific ideas for solving the crisis claim Biden can immediately take action to end it but refuses to meet with them.

Shortly before the press conference, the Republican Governors Association released a list of 10 policy actions, beginning with a recommendation to continue enforcing Title 42, which former President Donald Trump’s administration invoked at the coronavirus pandemic’s onset to stem the flow of migrants coming to the U.S.

Also included as part of the policy recommendations were ending “catch and release,” clearing the backlog of migrant cases awaiting decisions on their status, deporting known criminals who enter illegally, cracking down on human and drug trafficking, re-establishing the successful Remain in Mexico protocols, and sending additional federal law enforcement officers to the border to aid security efforts.

Read the full Republican plan here.

Biden, who holds an abysmal 23 percent approval on the border, has not only avoided a border visit but reserved his rancor for U.S. Border Patrol agents.

“We know that chaos will be repeated unless and until Biden takes action,” Abbott responded to a reporter’s question after delivering remarks. “He’s completely abdicated his constitutional duties. That’s why it’s necessary for the states to take action.”

Ducey addressed drugs, death, and illegal border crossings into the Grand Canyon State.

“By neglecting the border, Biden has fueled an opioid epidemic in America,” Arizona’s chief executive argued. “The Biden border crisis also led to a disturbing rise in crime in streets. Because our border sheriffs have to spread their personnel thin… there are far fewer officers patrolling our streets and keeping Arizonans safe. There are people to blame for making America a more dangerous place: President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.”

If the White House is looking for a root cause of the border crisis, they should check inside the Oval Office. The communication coming from this admin. on the border has been a disaster. President Biden, VP Harris and officials must say clearly our borders are NOT open 4/

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) October 6, 2021

Before the outdoor presser, an indoor briefing transpired at the Texas Department of Public Safety. Governors then visited border-crossing locations by air, boat, and ground.

In 8 months, the Biden Administration has added 1 million people to the US population from illegal immigration. 400,000 people, that authorities know of, have entered with no record. The other 600,000 have been processed into the US, but may never finish the legalization process. pic.twitter.com/azlB2fWBgj

— Brad Little (@GovernorLittle) October 6, 2021

Our nation’s southern border remains porous and insecure, with drug cartels and human traffickers taking full advantage of the situation. President Biden thinks if he ignores his crisis, it will go away. It won’t.

It’s time to get the crisis on our southern border under control. pic.twitter.com/IGFjkrqD1d

— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) October 6, 2021

Instead of taking the life-and-death situation seriously, mainstream press belittled the event, with one local newspaper writing, “The event carried a decidedly militaristic ambiance with Humvees and Army helicopters stationed behind the speakers’ lectern.”

Democrats predictably ignored the entire important gathering.