AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott hosted 45th President Donald J. Trump for a border security briefing with state officials in Eagle Pass on Thursday. Following the briefing, the Governor and the President toured portions of Texas’ comprehensive border security operations at Shelby Park and discussed the unprecedented actions taken by Texas to secure the border in President Biden’s absence.
“The United States of America is dealing with more deadly consequences than we have in our entire lifetime because of President Biden’s open border policies,” said Governor Abbott. “It did not have to be this way. President Trump put in place four policies that led to the lowest illegal border crossing in about four decades. What President Biden did was eliminate all those effective policies and fail the American people by aiding and abetting illegal entry. I thank President Trump for coming to Texas, literally on the border itself, to see Texas’ unprecedented border security efforts himself. Unless and until President Biden steps up and does the job that he has the power to do already, Texas will continue to secure the border to protect and defend America from his disastrous border crisis.”
“The Governors of Arizona and California have not done a thing to prevent people from flowing through the border,” said President Trump. “Texas is very secure, and it is going to be even more secure by the time you finish. Just three ago, at the very beginning, we saw what was happening and Governor Abbott really stepped it up and has done an amazing job in securing the border.”
Governor Abbott and President Trump were joined at the press conference by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) President Brandon Judd, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Deputy Director Freeman Martin, Texas Adjutant General Major General Thomas Suelzer, and Texas Border Czar Mike Banks.
Prior to the press conference, Governor Abbott held a briefing to update President Trump on Texas’ ongoing border security efforts to do the job the Biden Administration refuses to do—secure the border. Deputy Director Martin, Major General Suelzer, and Border Czar Banks touted the multitude of effective tools and strategies deployed by Operation Lone Star to secure the Texas-Mexico border. First, Deputy Director Martin lauded the work DPS troopers have done under Operation Lone Star to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country, highlighting how Texas law enforcement has seized over 468 million lethal doses of deadly fentanyl—enough to kill every man, woman, and child in America. Major General Suelzer then walked former President Trump through the Texas National Guard’s efforts to protect and defend the Texas-Mexico border in the Biden Administration’s absence, detailing their work to take control of Shelby Park to curb illegal crossings. Additionally, Border Czar Banks praised Operation Lone Star’s border security measures that have decreased in illegal border crossings into Texas, thanks to the Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers.
Earlier this month, Governor Abbott announced that Texas is building aForward Operating Basein the Del Rio sector to house Texas National Guard soldiers who are responding to President Biden’s border crisis.
