Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott slammed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for blaming the southern border crisis on climate change.
In a Wednesday post on X, Abbott called Mayorkas "pathetic" for the comments.
"The REAL reason illegal immigration records are being set is because [President Joe] Biden refuses to enforce immigration laws," Abbott wrote. "We will send more buses and planes. We will continue building the razor wire walls that Biden wants to tear down."
Mayorkas had talked about the potential effects climate change has on migration during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" earlier Wednesday.
"We are seeing the greatest number of displaced people, not only at our southern border, not only in the western hemisphere, but across the globe," Mayorkas said. "We have the effects of climate change, poverty, increasing levels of authoritarianism.
"The very many challenges are at the root cause of the displacement of people around the world."
In addition to his climate change concerns, Mayorkas also accused Abbott during the MSNBC interview of a "remarkable failure of governance" by "refusing to cooperate with other governors and other local officials" on the border.
Mayorkas' comments came as nearly 10 million migrants have illegally into the U.S. since Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
Border Patrol also encountered a record 2.2 million people attempting to illegally enter the country in fiscal year 2022, followed by over 2 million in 2022, and 382,847 already this fiscal year.
The Biden administration has consistently tried to thwart Texas' effort to mitigate the border crisis.
In December, federal prosecutors won a lawsuit against the state's floating razor-wire barriers in the Rio Grande, necessitating their removal.
And now, a recently passed law making it a state crime to enter Texas illegally from Mexico is under scrutiny by the Biden administration.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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