McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday is scheduled to visit a South Texas border town and meet with leaders regarding the growing numbers of undocumented migrants streaming into the region, his office said late Monday.
Abbott plans to hold a news conference in the town of Mission on Tuesday “to discuss the state’s border security efforts amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis,” his office said.
He will receive an aerial tour of the border region and be briefed in South Texas by representatives of the U.S. Border Patrol, Texas National Guard, and Texas Department of Public Safety, which along with Abbott launched Operation Lone Star on Saturday to focus on smuggling at the southern border of Texas.
Abbotts’ visit comes as criticisms increase from border communities after reports that dozens of undocumented migrants tested positive for coronavirus after being released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials starting late January.
The releases have been increasing despite Title 42 border crossing restrictions still in place. And on Monday it was announced that hundreds of migrants would be flown to other border towns for processing, such as Laredo and El Paso, Texas.
His visit also follows a secretive visit on Saturday by Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and 13 officials sent by the White House, including Susan Rice, White House domestic policy adviser. The group visited the nearby town of Donna and toured a tent facility that opened in early February to handle the processing of an overflow of migrants whose apprehensions in South Texas have been increasing each week since President Joe Biden took office.
The White House confirmed that Mayorkas visited the Southwest border, but Border Report learned the delegation not only visited the Donna tent facility, but also traveled to Laredo and then to Carrizo Springs and toured a facility run by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement for the detention of undocumented migrant teens.
Border Report plans to be at the governor’s visit and will update with a story and video.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at Ssanchez@borderreport.com.
