Speaker Johnson Discusses Border Issues with Texas Governor and Criticizes Biden

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticized the Biden administration’s open border policies as undermining the nation’s security following a conversation with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday.

Abbott and Biden have clashed over the influx of illegal immigrants into Texas from Mexico and the governor’s efforts to stop it. The Texas National Guard was instructed by Abbott to erect barriers of razor wire along the Rio Grande River, which separates the U.S. from Mexico. The Supreme Court recently ruled that Biden’s Customs and Border Patrol agents can remove the wire.

The Biden administration is also suing to block a Texas law that will go into effect on March 5, making it a state crime to cross into the country illegally between ports of entry. It imposes penalties for repeat offenders of up to 20 years in prison. The law permits a judge to dismiss the charges if the illegal immigrant agrees to return to Mexico. The Biden administration contends that the federal government alone is responsible for border security.

“Under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government and the state of Texas have a dual and complementary responsibility to exercise police powers to protect the health and safety of the people,” Johnson said in a news release obtained by Newsmax. “Sadly, President Biden and his administration have undermined security, creating an ongoing catastrophe along the southern border.

“While we fight for the federal government to do its job, it is the expectation of the U.S. House of Representatives that the Biden Administration will not interfere as Texas fulfills its responsibilities.”

Johnson wrote a letter to the House Republican Conference last week, stating that a bipartisan Senate deal involving Ukraine aid and southern border policy would be rejected in the House if it incentivized illegal immigrants “to break our laws.”

“I made clear [with Biden] that we stand with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his heroic efforts to protect the citizens of his state and all Americans,” Johnson wrote, “and I am emphasizing again today that House Republicans will vigorously oppose any policy proposals from the White House or Senate that would further incentivize illegal aliens to break our laws.”