Gov. Holcomb at a news conference along the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. (Courtesy-Office of the Governor)
EAGLE PASS, Texas – Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb stood alongside the Texas border with Mexico on Sunday with a dozen other governors as Lone Star State Gov. Greg Abbott promised to expand his border strategy.
“Texas will … expand the area where we are using that self-defense to make sure we can better protect our communities,” Abbott said at a news conference at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. The park is central to Abbott’s clash with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.
Federal border patrol agents want access to the park, a common crossing point for migrants, but Texas has denied them entry, according to the Associated Press.
Abbott and a growing number of Republican governors say Biden’s administration isn’t doing enough to stem the flow of unauthorized migrants. They cite a clause in the U.S. Constitution banning states from keeping troops or waging war unless they’re “actually invaded” or in “imminent danger.”
Holcomb said in a statement Sunday. “If unregulated immigration continues to transpire, we governors will continue to deal with the after-effects inside our home states.”
He advocated for first stopping the flow of unauthorized migrants and then “passing a legal efficient immigration policy that actually will contribute to a needed and healthy workforce.”
Holcomb previously signed on to a 25-governor statement declaring solidarity with Texas’ strategies, including the use of razor wire.
Abbott said that National Guard troops have erected over 100 miles of sharp razor wire as a barrier along the border, and that had cut daily crossings at the park from thousands to an average of three.
Federal officials say the razor wire blocks their patrols and injures migrants. Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly voted to allow border patrol agents to cut the wire while a lawsuit over it continues, the Associated Press reported.
No state dollars were used in the visit, according to Gov. Holcomb’s office.
Read the complete Leslie Bonilla Muñiz story in the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
