Texas Governor Invites Mayors of Washington, New York to US–Mexico Border

Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The governor of Texas on Aug. 1 invited the mayors of Washington and New York City to tour the U.S.–Mexico border with him.

“As Governor, I invite you to visit our border region to see firsthand the dire situation that only grows more urgent with each passing day, and to meet with the local officials, who like yourselves, realize this matter deserves immediate federal action,” Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, wrote to Mayors Muriel Bowser and Eric Adams, both Democrats.

Bowser recently requested National Guard assistance as the number of illegal immigrants in her city soars, in part because of buses transporting them from Texas and Arizona on the command of Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, also of the GOP.

Adams, meanwhile, told reporters in the borough of Manhattan that Abbott and Ducey’s actions “were wrong.”

Both mayors head so-called sanctuary cities, where illegal aliens are largely welcome to live and work without fear of deportation.

Abbott said in the new missive that the interest from the mayors in the border situation was “a welcome development” and asked them not only to visit the border, but to urge President Joe Biden to secure it “and put an end to this disastrous crisis.”

“President Biden’s reckless open border policies have created a dangerous environment not only for tens of millions of Texans, but for communities all across the nation, including yours. We agree that this crisis demands immediate federal action to prevent the flood of deadly fentanyl, now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45, the unimaginable horrors caused by human smuggling and trafficking, the known terrorists from entering our country, and the countless other crimes that have been committed by the hundreds of thousands of ‘gotaways’ that the Biden Administration has let slip through,” Abbott said.

“I look forward to welcoming you the Texas-Mexico border so that you can see this crisis for yourself. Please contact my office to make travel arrangements for your visits,” he added.

Spokespersons for Bowser and Adams did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed to The Epoch Times in an email it received Bowser’s request but that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a Biden appointee, needed to work through the details with his team before responding to the mayor’s office.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in late July that the White House has been in regular communication with Bowser and claimed that Republicans are using immigrants “as a political tool.”