White House Blames Abbott Amid Border Chaos

A shocking video captured by The Post shows migrants dismantling razor wire barriers and charging at guards in an attempt to enter the U.S. at the southern border. This incident resulted in injuries to Texas National Guard members.

The White House, despite overseeing homeland security, pointed fingers at Texas Governor Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump for the chaos. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attributed the use of razor wire and the deployment of the National Guard to Abbott’s policies.

“The razor wire, that’s [Abbott]. The National Guard, that’s him. The Border Patrol agents still did their job. They got in the way, like the governor’s plans got in the way,” Jean-Pierre said during Friday’s press briefing.

The statement, however, left ambiguity regarding which law enforcement group was being criticized or praised for their actions during the incident, especially since it was Texas National Guardsmen who appeared to be overwhelmed by the migrants.

Jean-Pierre then criticized Governor Abbott for supposedly politicizing the situation and reiterated the administration’s commitment to addressing border challenges through legislative means.

“The president has worked with Congress and the Senate … about getting an immigration bill done, making sure that we deal with the border challenges that we’re now seeing. And you have a governor of Texas who has continued to politicize this.”

She highlighted President Biden’s efforts to work with Congress and the Senate to pass an immigration bill and called on congressional Republicans to support a bipartisan solution.

The proposed legislation, backed by Biden and passed by the Senate, includes $20 billion for border security but has faced resistance from House Republicans.

Referring to congressional Republicans, Jean-Pierre said, “What they’re doing instead … is listening to the former president, President Trump, telling them not to get involved in moving with this bipartisan agreement because of his own personal politics.”

Governor Abbott, on the other hand, defended his actions by highlighting the effectiveness of the additional barriers and resources deployed along the border in reducing illegal crossings.

He argued that these measures have not only deterred migrants from entering the U.S. through dangerous areas but have also encouraged them to seek lawful entry at ports of entry.

“The mental gymnastics from the Biden Administration are astonishing,” Abbot’s spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Friday. “Yesterday’s surge in El Paso is the direct result of the unsustainable chaos President Biden has unleashed on the border. Texas will continue to utilize every tool and strategy to deter and repel illegal crossings as President Biden’s dangerous open border policies encourage migrants from over 150 countries to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry.”

The legal battle between Texas and the federal government over the state’s authority to arrest migrants deemed to be crossing the border illegally further complicates the issue, with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of Texas, quickly countered by a block from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.