Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday said that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) “couldn’t be more wrong” in claiming there is no need for Congress to approve legislation on immigration, and accused Abbott of “trying to wreak havoc” in cities across the U.S.
Abbott had previously called on President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to improve the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The president does not need new laws,” Abbott told CNN’s “State of the Union” last month. “The president needs the backbone to make sure that he enforces the immigration laws that are already on the books.”
Mayorkas on Sunday took issue with Abbott’s comments, telling CNN’s Dana Bash that the governor “couldn’t be more wrong” and that Abbott’s suggested approach failed during former President Donald Trump’s time in office.
“As a matter of fact, former President Trump tried to close the border, and it was enjoined in the courts and never saw the light of day,” Mayorkas said.
Mayorkas also blasted Abbott for failing to work with other U.S. officials, and for engaging in political stunts by busing migrants from Texas to Democrat-led states and cities like New York and Chicago.
“This coming from an individual who is purposefully refusing to coordinate, communicate, collaborate with other officials, and trying to wreak havoc in other cities and states across the country,” Mayorkas said. “That is not a model of governance, and he couldn’t be more wrong.”
Republicans, at Trump’s urging, ended up rejecting a bipartisan bill that would have established some of the toughest border enforcement measures in decades, to avoid potentially handing Biden a win in an election year.
Abbott joined Trump at his campaign stop at the border last week, where the former president said he is “absolutely” considering the governor as a potential running mate.
Abbott has frequently sparred with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement. Most recently, the administration sued Texas over a bill that would enable local police to arrest migrants who cross into the country illegally. A federal court struck down the legislation, but the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton (R), has already appealed the decision.
Bash also asked Mayorkas whether he wants the Senate to hold an impeachment trial against him, after the House voted to impeach him last month in what was widely considered a politically motivated effort by Republicans to make Trump look tough on immigration ahead of November’s presidential election.
“I’m going to let the Senate, of course, execute its responsibilities as it thinks best in the service of our country,” Mayorkas told Bash. “I am going to focus on work.”