Texas Gov. Greg Abbott accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams of "aiding and abetting" the nation's southern border crisis.
In 2022, Abbott infamously began bussing illegal border crossers from the Lone Star state to heavily Democratic cities which have declared themselves "sanctuary" destinations to federal immigration policies. Abbott was later joined by fellow Republican governors Doug Ducey of Arizona and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Abbott discussed President Joe Biden's lax approach to border security measures and his decision to bus illegal border crossers to New York City during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
“The person who is actually using illegal immigrants as political pawns is Joe Biden,” Abbott said of the president. “Joe Biden has created this open border policy that has allowed illegal immigrants into our country to appeal to and to appease the far leftists in the Democrat Party that people like [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez in hopes of trying to win their support while at the same time destroying the country that he’s in charge of. He is the commander-in-chief in charge of national security for our country."
"Our country is being invaded in ways that put our country at risk because of the political games that Joe Biden has played," Abbott added.
“And Mayor Adams is just aiding and abetting that by having a sanctuary city status, welcoming in anybody from across the world to live there or stay there in New York City on the bill of New York City,” he continued. “And what Mayor Adams needs to do, he needs to stop talking boldly about illegal immigration and the migrants that Texas is sending there. And he needs to step up and do his own job because look at the dangers in New York City under his watch. You have a police officer who is killed. You have the train system in New York, which is treacherous for travelers. You got police officers attacked in Times Square by illegal immigrants.”
On Thursday, Abbott visited New York City for the state's Republican Committee's annual gala. During his visit, Adams encouraged the Texas governor to visit one of the city's migrant shelters.
"I'm going to offer him a stay in one of the HERRCs so he can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown as well," Adams said during a press conference.
"I'm not quite sure why he's here and what he's doing while here, but he's going to see how you can manage the crisis with the coordination of not one child of families sleeping on the streets of the city of New York," Adams added. "When we coordinate together, we should not displace problems to local municipalities. That is not what executives do. It is unfortunate that he made the decision to do that."
