Texas Gov. Greg Abbott disputed the White House's claim that he is sowing chaos at the southern border with Mexico, telling Newsmax on Wednesday the lack of immigration enforcement by the Biden administration is responsible for wreaking such havoc.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Monday against Abbott and the state after the governor ordered a 1,000-foot-long wall of buoys be placed in the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass, Texas, to prevent migrants from crossing into the state.
The DOJ claims the state did not receive permission to erect the barrier from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a violation of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899. The DOJ wants the barrier to be removed.
"Texas is stepping up as the fighter for the freedom and sovereignty of this country, and we need the United States to step up and do its job," Abbott told "The Chris Salcedo Show."
In a Monday briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "There's no good-faith effort here in what Gov. Abbott is doing. And the one person that is sowing chaos is Gov. Abbott. That's what he continues to do: political stunts in an inhumane way. He's actively undermining our border-enforcement plan."
Abbott said Texas has spent $9.5 billion in its efforts to stem the tide of illegal immigration. He said he is not the one sowing chaos — the White House is doing a good job of that.
"The chaos has been caused by the Biden administration and its refusal to enforce the immigration laws of the United States," Abbott said. "It was just four years ago we had the fewest illegal border crossings in four decades. Under Joe Biden, we have the largest number of illegal immigrants ever.
"Texas is the only governmental body in the United States of America that's actually preventing people from entering our country illegally. As opposed to stoking chaos, it's only Texas that is abiding by the Constitution, using our constitutional authority to deny illegal immigrants access to our country."
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