(NewsNation) — When it comes to stopping illegal immigration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is focused on more than just the southern border, turning attention also to stopping people who have crossed the border from entering Texas through other states.
“There are people who cross from Mexico into New Mexico and then right over into El Paso, and that’s something we have to deal with,” Abbott told NewsNation.
He has plans to fence off the border between the two states, similar to how the state has installed razor wire along the Mexican border in Eagle Pass, Texas. That wire, along with other border barriers installed as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, has faced challenges in court, where the Biden administration has argued Abbott is overstepping his authority.
“Let’s assume Texas does succeed in reducing illegal immigration to zero percent into our state, which is our goal,” Abbott said. “All those terrorists, all those murderers, all those rapists, they’re just going to go through New Mexico and Arizona and California.”
While there isn’t robust data on whether more crimes are committed by immigrants or U.S. citizens, some experts have said the data that does exist shows immigrants commit fewer crimes than citizens.
Border crossings have dropped significantly following action by President Joe Biden to deter illegal crossings. But Abbot claims that border crossings began to slow before that, and immigration historically has peaks and valleys throughout the year.
“That was after Texas began our accelerated operations to deny illegal entry, using the guard, using the razor wire, using the pepper ball,” he said.
The larger border problem, in Abbott’s opinion, will only be solved by a new president.
Full immigration reform can only be handled by Congress, which is given the power to determine immigration policy by the Constitution. A bipartisan bill in the Senate that would have implemented some changes to border policy failed after former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to vote against it.
As for Abbott’s operations, they have faced local challenges as well, with those living along the border not always willing to give up part of their land for a border barrier, something the governor said has been a hindrance.
“Those places are basically crevices where illegal immigrants are able to get through,” Abbott said. “We continue to work with those property owners, and we’re winning more and more of them over. Our goal is to win all of them over to make sure we are able to seal the border.”
NewsNation reached out to the governor of New Mexico’s office for comment on barriers and has not received a response.