Some people don't realize exactly how much Texas is doing, State Senator Bryan Hughes said on Washington Watch Friday. One part of Gov. Greg Abbott's plan came under extra scrutiny last week when Texas National Guard troops blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents from entering a public area in the town of Eagle Pass.
Those agents, who would typically be the first to encounter illegals who have crossed the Rio Grande River, would use Shelby Park as a staging area before they are transported elsewhere for further processing. But the end result of processing typically means the illegals are released into Texas and either remain or are bused elsewhere in the U.S.
According to Sen. Hughes, that's what Gov. Abbott wants to stop.
"The governor's taking bold steps. We are the rule-of-law people; we follow the law, we follow the Constitution – and the feds have a role, and the states have a role," Hughes told show host Jody Hice. "In this situation where the federal government refuses to enforce the law, Texas has had no choice but to be very creative in how we secure this national border. We're tired of taking people into custody, handing them over to the feds only for catch and release."
The Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to stop Texas from blocking Border Patrol agents.
Hughes listed a variety of efforts used by Abbott to try and slow border crossings. His list included buoys in the middle of the river, wire at certain points, boats, airplanes, cameras and balloons. "We are doing everything we can to defend the U.S. southern border," Hughes stated, adding the state has so far spent $11 billion trying to do that.
When illegals are stopped by Texas authorities, they will be taken into custody on criminal trespass charges and held accountable in Texas courts, Hughes said. "They won't be turned over to the feds and then released," he emphasized.
Border Patrol agents in guv's corner
The official union for the U.S. Border Patrol supports the Texas intervention.
"Shoutout to Governor Abbott for enhancing Border Patrol operations! By taking control of an area where so many illegal aliens are simply surrendering, he's freeing up BP agents to patrol areas with high numbers of illegal aliens who attempt to escape arrest," the group wrote on its official X account.
The state lawmaker is pleased, but frustrated, to see that some in the Democratic Party are finally seeing the light about the border situation.
"The crisis is so bad that even Democrat politicians from around the country are calling it a crisis and acknowledging what it is, because in Chicago [and] New York – now that they have several thousand [illegal] immigrants to deal with – they say, 'Oh, we're stretched to the limit. We don't have the resources.' Well, try dealing with millions of these folks," Hughes said.
Most current numbers show New York City with 168,000 illegals, Chicago with 26,000, according to media reports.
"We don't hate these people," Hughes concluded. "We want to be humane. [But] we also have to have borders to define and protect our country."
