EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Ten Republican governors will visit the Texas-Mexico border next week.
The governors and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a news conference to discuss what he calls a “border crisis,” according to a news release from Abbott’s office.
The news conference will be at noon Wednesday in Mission, Texas. Also expected to speak are Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw; Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd; Texas Military Department Brig Gen. Monie R. Ulis; and National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, the release said.
The news release did not provide any details about the visit.
Abbott was in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 22, when as many 8,600 migrants were still under the international bridge. As many as 15,000 migrants — mostly Haitians — crossed the Rio Grande and amassed under the bridge, waiting to be processed. Federal officials cleared out the area on Sept. 24.
Abbott spoke from the bridge along with McCraw, Judd, and Texas Military Department Adjutant General Tracy Norris.
Images similar to those in Del Rio surfaced in March when hundreds of mostly Central American migrants waited to be processed under the Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration denied Texas’ request for “federal assistance to respond to the thousands of illegal crossings along the border,” which Abbott has appealed.
Abbott sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Sept. 20, asking for an emergency declaration saying that “the federal government failed to enforce immigration laws, and in particular, failed to halt illegal crossings on federal property.”
The GOP governors who will be visiting South Texas on Wednesday include:
- Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
- daho Gov. Brad Little
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds
- Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte
- Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts
- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
- Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
- Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon