Abbott: Texas Would Shoot Migrants, But Biden “Would Charge Us With Murder”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott lamented the inevitable murder charge that shooting migrants crossing the border would bring in a recent appearance on a former NRA spokesperson’s radio show.Adam Davis/EFE via ZUMA
Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has told a right-wing radio host that there’s only one tool the state isn’t using to stop migrants from crossing the border into Texas: gun violence, because it would prompt a response from the pesky federal government.
“The only thing that we are not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border—because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder,” the Republican governor told former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch on her radio show last week. (Check it out at the 11:45 mark.)
Abbott made the comments during a discussion with Loesch about a $700 million lawsuit filed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams against more than a dozen charter bus companies that helped transport an estimated 33,000 migrants to the city from the southern border, under Abbott’s direction, since the spring of 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the bus companies violated the city’s Social Services Law, which requires that anyone who brings “a needy person from out of state” to New York City to cover the resulting expenses.
Democrats quickly condemned Abbott’s comments.
“This bloodthirsty approach to governance is dangerous not only for migrants and Texans of color—but for our entire state,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.
“Apparently, federal law is the only thing keeping Greg Abbott from murdering immigrants. What the hell is wrong with you, @GovAbbott?” Rep. Jimmy Gonzalez (D-Calif.) wrote in a post on X.
“I can’t believe I have to say ‘murdering people is unacceptable,’” wrote Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) in a post on X. “It’s language like yours that left 23 people dead and 22 others injured in El Paso,” she added, referring to the 2019 mass shooting in a Texas Walmart by an anti-immigrant killer.
Abbott has previously called Adams’ lawsuit against the bus companies “baseless.” The feud comes amid a record surge in migrant arrivals and intense disagreement over how to manage the influx. Adams, a Democrat, has come under criticism from immigration advocates who say he has not done enough to support migrants as they attempt to move from shelters to more permanent housing. A damning report from the New York Times also revealed how the Adams administration, which has repeatedly claimed that migrants would “destroy” the city, failed to help families file for asylum, thus “likely closing a pathway to legal employment for thousands.”
And not everyone agrees that Abbott is worth Adams’ fight. Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told the Associated Press that the mayor should focus more on supporting migrants who arrive in New York City than on the legal fight with Abbott.
“This lawsuit is one more way for the mayor to scapegoat someone else for his lack of management of the situation. He needs to stop taking pages out of Governor Abbott’s playbook and step up and lead the city of New York,” Awawdeh told the AP.
Something tells us, though, that Adams’ critics may be giving him a break after Abbott’s latest disturbing remarks.
