Mayorkas takes aim at Abbott over southern border: ‘He couldn’t be more wrong’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas criticized recent comments by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) suggesting President Biden doesn’t need legislation to enforce new border enforcement.

“I couldn’t have been more wrong. I couldn’t have been more wrong. And the fact is, former President Trump tried to close the border, but it was blocked by the courts and never saw the light of day,” Mayorkas told CNN. stated in the “State of the Union.”

“This is coming from an individual who is deliberately refusing to coordinate, communicate, and cooperate with other officials and who is trying to wreak havoc in other cities and states across the country. It is not a model of governance and , I couldn’t be more wrong,” he added.

This week, Mr. Mayorkas visited the Texas border with Mr. Biden, and at the same time Mr. Abbott visited Eagle Pass with Mr. Trump. Each 2024 candidate made a pitch on how they would solve immigration issues if re-elected to the White House.

CNN co-anchor Dana Bash criticized Abbott’s comments on last week’s “State of the Union” in which he accused Biden of “not using executive power to do what Congress has already authorized.” asked Mayorkas to respond. He added: “We don’t need new laws.”

“The president needs a backbone to make sure he enforces the immigration laws that are already in place,” Abbott said last week.

Some Republicans, including Trump, are pushing for a bipartisan deal in the Senate that includes new provisions on national security and asylum, and Biden wants to make new efforts to take action on the border. He argued that the bill was not necessary. The deal died in the Senate as some Republicans argued the bill did not adequately address border issues.

Mayorkas also called on Congress to pass the bipartisan agreement the Senate introduced last month.

“The reality is that Congress needs to act, and President Biden said Congress needs to stand tall.”