Texas Governor Greg Abbott Signs New Immigration Law Transcript

I want to thank everybody for being with us here today, gathered in front of this enormous wall that is being built by Texas, paid for by Texas taxpayers, for Texas doing its part to step up and trying to secure a border made wide open by Joe Biden. I want to thank the Texas Workforce Commission, which is charged with the responsibility of leading this construction effort. I want to thank the Texas Legislature for providing the funding that pays for these border walls that we're putting up, as well as other barriers. I want to thank these construction workers over here. This wall would not go up without the work of the men and women who wear the hard hats, and we thank you. And I want to thank those with us here today for this bill signing ceremony, including Lieutenant Governor Patrick, members of the Texas Legislature, General Suelzer from the Texas National Guard. The Texas Borders are Mike Banks and Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Council. (01:57) Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in about 40 years. It was because of four policies put in place by the Trump administration in catch and release, Title 42, Remain in Mexico and building a border wall. That is what led to such a low number of people crossing illegally. Now under President Biden, he has eliminated all of those policies and has done nothing to halt illegal immigration. Joe Biden's deliberate inaction has decimated America. Two years ago, there was an all time record number of illegal immigrants apprehended, more than 2.3 million. That's larger than the size of Houston, Texas. Then this last year there was more than 2.4 million people apprehended crossing the border illegally, again larger than the size of Houston, Texas. Altogether, since Joe Biden has been President, when you count those apprehended and the known got aways, it adds up to about 8 million people crossing the border illegally. (03:22) Now, I know that cities like Chicago and New York, they've had it with regard to the influx of migrants to their locations, but I don't think they truly know the magnitude of the damage caused to the United States by Joe Biden, because three times the number of residents of Chicago have entered illegally under Joe Biden and about equal the amount of total population in New York City have entered the country illegally under Joe Biden. But the problem is far more than just numbers. It's also a national security crisis. It's been reported that while Donald Trump was President, there were 11 people on the terrorist watch list who were apprehended. Under Joe Biden, however, that number has skyrocketed to 294 people on the terrorist watch list who've been apprehended. That's a 2600% increase under Joe Biden, and it counts only those who are known to have been apprehended, who were known to be on the terrorist watch list. It does not include the people who were not apprehended, who were on the terrorist watch list, who paid more money to make sure that they were not caught, they were not apprehended. (04:50) Last year, there were more than 24,000 people come across the border illegally from China. The border patrol recently warned to take extreme caution when it learned that 10 IEDs were found just across the border. The FBI director warned that the border poses a threat to national security and the United Nations declared that the border between the United States and Mexico is the deadliest land crossing in the entire world. Biden's deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself. The authors of the United States Constitution foresaw a situation when the federal government would be inattentive to states that faced challenges at their borders, and in response, they inserted Article 1 Section 10 to the United States Constitution, to empower states to take action to defend themselves, and that is exactly what Texas is doing. (06:05) I will sign three laws today to better protect Texas and America from Biden's border neglect. The first is Senate Bill 4 from the fourth special session. The goal of Senate Bill 4 is to stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas. It creates a criminal offense for illegal entry into Texas from a foreign nation. For repeat offenders, it creates the offense of illegal reentry with a potential prison sentence term of up to 20 years. The Bill provides a mechanism to order an illegal immigrant to return to the foreign nation from which they entered. I want to thank the Senate sponsor, Charles Perry and the House sponsor, David Spiller for getting this to my desk. Senate Bill 4 is now law in the state of Texas. (07:43) I'm also signing Senate Bill 3 from the fourth special session. Senate Bill 3 adds $1.54 billion more to build more border barriers and walls like what we have here. It includes also $40 million

And dollars for the Texas Department of Public Safety for border security operations and increased law enforcement presence. Texas has already completed more than 16 miles of wall, and we have under construction more than 33 miles of wall. In addition to that, more than 110 miles of razor-wired barrier have been laid out. This law I'm about to sign will fund many more miles of wall and barrier just like this. Senate Bill 3 will help to deter illegal immigration and support our law enforcement response to the Biden border crisis. Senate Bill 3 for more border wall construction is now law in the state of Texas. (09:25) And last of the bills today is Senate Bill 4 from the Third Special Session. It involves smuggling and stash houses. Smuggling illegal immigrants has gotten out of control. In 2017, there were 370 arrests for smuggling illegal immigrants in Texas. Now in 2023, that number has skyrocketed to 7,700 arrests for smuggling illegal immigrants in Texas. That's more than a 2000% increase. It's not just the cartels doing it, many Texas residents are doing it. Cartels advertise on TikTok and enticing residents to make a quick buck. Too often the smugglers are released back out on the streets. What Senate Bill 4 does is, it puts an end to that process. (10:22) It creates a mandatory ten-year minimum prison sentence for smuggling illegal immigrants. It also creates a five-year minimum prison sentence for operating a stash house in Texas. I want to thank Senate Sponsor Pete Flores and House Sponsor Ryan Guillen for getting this to my desk. Senate Bill 4, cracking down on human smuggling and stash houses is now law in the state of Texas. And I want to go back because I think, before I signed the border wall funding, I neglected to mention the sponsors of that bill who deserve credit. And that is Senate Sponsor Joan Huffman, and House Sponsor Jacey Jetton. Thank you all for getting that bill to my desk. (11:51) Now, I'll turn things over to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

Thank you, Governor. And thank our three senators, Senators Perry, Senator Pete Flores, and Senator Joan Huffman for their work on these three bills, and their house counterparts the Governor has acknowledged. The Senate's proud to push forward the state of Texas to be the leader in defending not only the citizens of Texas, but the citizens of the United States from Biden's policies. During President Trump's last year, there were between four and 500,000 people who crossed the border illegally. And now we have seen those numbers, as the governor acknowledged, up to 2 million or more. (12:34) The 8 million that the governor referenced, if you put them all in one area, they would be the 12th or 13th largest state in the country. And they've all come here illegally. Those terrorists, those sex offenders, those murderers that our great department of public safety and our border patrol, our local law enforcement, that they apprehend, that's just probably a small number of those who cross that we don't see. The 8 million that Biden has led in, well, we know, if you talked to law enforcement, do we get one out of every two or one out of every three? We have a 1,254 mile border, Texas to Mexico, plus Arizona, plus New Mexico, plus California. We don't have enough people to be every eighth of a mile to catch every person. So the public needs to understand it's far worse than the 8 million. Far worse. (13:39) When I became Lieutenant Governor with Governor Abbott in 2015, we increased border funding. At that time, it had been about 200 million a year up until then, or less. Up to 800 million for our two-year budget. And now more than $4 billion of hardworking Texas taxpayers are going to building the wall, funding additional law enforcement, and all the costs that are involved on the social side to our cities and counties. Ronald Reagan once said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall." I say to Joe Biden, "Mr. Biden, build up that wall." We need it across Texas, and New Mexico, and Arizona, and California to protect American citizens all across this country besides in our states. (14:32) The president can give everyone a great Christmas present by doing an about face and saying he will secure the border and shut it down. Now, lives depend on it. Lives depend on it. We've seen recent murders, recent sexual offenses, and crime all across our 254 counties that we can trace back to many who are here illegally. Mr. Biden is putting the lives of Texans and the lives of Americans at risk, and the future of our country, and a potential terrorist attack. (15:10) Governor, thank you for inviting us to be here with you today. And we will together do everything we can to protect this border, even if Joe Biden will not. And Senate Bill 4 by Charles Perry and David Spiller, that will be the bill that will change the dynamics of states being able to stop the invasion for ourselves. Thank you, Governor. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Next, we have the President of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd.

Governor, it's good to be here with you today. All we want to do is have an honest conversation about what's taking place on the border. We're talking about illegal immigration, not talking legal immigration. We want to stop illegal immigration and we want to protect

... all citizens throughout this entire nation, not just here in Texas. For that reason, I'm so grateful to Governor Abbott. I'm so grateful to be able to be here. On behalf of all of the men and women of the United States border patrol nationwide, not just in Texas, your efforts have saved lives, not just the lives of U.S citizens, but the lives of illegal immigrants as well. If it wasn't for what Governor Abbott has done, for his leadership... Lieutenant Governor Patrick, were grateful to you as well. The leadership that we have seen has saved lives. And these bills that have now become law, will undoubtedly save more lives of U.S citizens and those people that want to cross our borders illegally. What this will do is this will allow us to go after the cartels. It will allow us to go after the profits that is fueling what we're currently seeing on our border today. (17:04) If we can take out the profit of the cartels, we can stop illegal immigration., We can stop the flood of drugs that are coming into the United States, that are killing so many of our fellow citizens. If we would have the strength of will, like what Governor Abbott has shown, with all of our governors on our Southwest Border, this problem would go away tomorrow. We have to have proper policy that doesn't cost a taxpayer a dime. If we had that policy, we would be able to secure the border tomorrow. And these steps that a governor is taking, rather than the President of the United States, is going to save thousands upon thousands of lives. And for that reason, Governor, all of the men and women of the United States Border Patrol are extremely grateful for all that you've done.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And we do once again give our gratitude to the men and women who serve in border patrol across this nation. We know that they are committed to the cause. We also know they have a president who's tied their hands. The president must let those border patrol officers do the job that the laws of the United States of America command them to do. But I want each of them to know the gratitude that I as governor and that the people of the State of Texas have for their service. Now, the President of the United States Joe Biden, created a new position called the Border Czar. (18:34) The Border Czar Kamala Harris has never actually been to a real border like this with a real border wall and encounter illegal immigrants coming across the border. In Texas, because the national Border Czar was not doing her job, I created a border czar. His name is Mike Banks. Our Border Czar lives and works on the border, every day, and he served for more than two decades as a border patrol agent himself. He knows the border, he knows immigration. He knows how to address people coming across the border, and he's provided a high level of expertise for the state of Texas in a response to the border crisis caused by Joe Biden. So our next speaker is Mike Banks, the Texas Border Czar.

Thank you, Governor. In the absence of the Biden administration, America has become saddled with the disaster open border policies that this administration has put upon us. Just remember, Joe Biden and Secretary Mayorkas inherited the most secure border I've seen in my lifetime, and they've managed to turn it into a complete disaster. I'm thankful for Governor Abbott for stepping up and protecting not only Texans, but the rest of the people that are in the United States of America, through Operation Lone Star. For decades, I served as a member of federal law enforcement and as a border patrol agent. I went toe-to-toe with the Cartel. And I understand what it takes to defeat a monstrous organization such as the Cartel. And what that takes is sweeping measures, real action, and strong consequence. That we see Governor Abbott continue to do day in and day out. Under Governor Abbott's leadership, Operation Lone Star has deployed tactical infrastructure in the form of sea wire, anti-climb fencing, and tactical marine barriers. (20:32) This tactical infrastructure has allowed us to create great deterrence along Texas, as we continue to build the wall that you see here today. But I want to explain something very clearly. Walls alone will not solve this disastrous border crisis that the Biden administration has created. What will is consequence for violating laws, combined with the probability of arrest and prosecution for coming to this country illegally. Today's bill signings by the Governor will allow Texas to continue building the wall, such as you see here today, while empowering our law enforcement officers to arrest those who come into Texas illegally. It will also enhance criminal penalties for crimes such as smuggling and stash house operations. As a veteran border patrol agent and as Texas Border Czar, I want to thank the Texas Legislature for their continued dedication and protecting our great state. But I really want to commend Governor Abbott for having the moral courage to defend Texas and our country when President Biden refuses to do so. Thank you, Governor.

Thank you. In Texas, we have a National Guard that understands a core mission, and that is to protect and secure the United States, including the State of Texas,. And they have the flexibility to be able to maneuver in ways to address unusual circumstances. And that's exactly what they're doing in Texas as we speak right now. Texas has had to deploy thousands upon thousands of Texas National Guard members to safeguard the border itself. They have undertaken the construction of much of the concertina wire, razor wire, border barrier, and then stand guard behind that barrier, denying illegal entry to people who try to enter the United States illegally. They have repelled or turned back more than 75,000 people who attempted to enter into Texas illegally. I want to thank General Suelzer or the Adjutant General of the Texas National Guard, for his leadership of this extraordinary team. And at this time I introduce General Suelzer.

Thank you, Governor. The Texas National Guard, your National Guard remains decisively engaged with thousands of troops from El Paso down to Brownsville. In this effort, we've constructed over 72 miles of fence, as the Governor said, 110 miles of concertina wire. And in our latest effort to block migrants into the United States, we have started putting up over 1,400 anti-climb barrier panels. To date, we've put up 575 of these 12-by-8 panels. They're used in conjunction with fields of concertina wire to protect the sovereignty of the State of Texas. Additionally, we are employing new surveillance vehicles that will provide overwatch, using day-night cameras and radar that can track over 300 contacts, in order to get after the gotaways that are getting into the country. These temporary barriers are in place while Texas undergoes its unprecedented effort to build its own border

... border wall. I'd like to thank the Governor for your relentless efforts to protect Texans, Lieutenant Governor, and the legislators behind us for giving the Texas National Guard all the tools they need to keep Texans safe.

Thank you very much. And last, I want to thank the Texas Department of Public Safety for also being flexible in their duty to safeguard our state. They've deployed an extraordinary number of DPS troopers to border regions across the entire state, and they have arrested thousands upon thousands of extraordinarily dangerous criminals who've come across the border, and made Texas safer because of it. We wouldn't be the state that we are without our DPS troopers. With all that said, we'll be happy to take a few questions.

Governor, what is your message to some of the residents...

Go for it.

Thank you. Governor. What is your message to some of the residents of Brownsville who are worried that there could be some side effects to these laws that could lead to profiling or improper detention of law-abiding citizens and their loved ones?

So one thing that officers understand, and that is it's wrong to profile. The goal of these laws is to make sure that when they see somebody crossing over the border as the National Guard see, as the Texas Department of Public Safety see, they know that they're not profiling, they are seeing with their own eyes people who are violating the law. And now they're going to have the ability to arrest them and prosecute them, make them subject to jail, make them subject to being sent back, and then make them subject to even greater penalties if they dare come into Texas a second time. So the only thing we are doing by this law is making sure that our law enforcement have the tools they need to actually take action against those who are actually coming across the border illegally.

Governor, [inaudible 00:26:01], every day, there's about 10,000 people that come over at the border. How many arrests are you expecting under this program? And what is your message to someone who came over last year to be working in a kitchen in Houston? What is your message to that person?

So we anticipate with SB4, that cracks down on illegal entry, that that should reduce the number of people coming across the border. We've already seen-

How many will you arrest every day?

Well, let me finish this and I'll try to more fully answer your question. If you talk to Mike Banks or talk to General Seltzer, one thing they can tell you is that because of the actions that we've already taken, Texas, which used to be number one for illegal crossings, now it has been displaced by Arizona, which is number one for illegal crossings. My point is that actions and deterrence work in causing the migrants to go elsewhere. With SB4, the consequences of it are so extreme that the people being smuggled by the cartels, they will not want to be coming into the state of Texas. The cartels will not want to be coming into the state of Texas. And so we expect a dramatic drop. Well over 50%, maybe 75% of the people coming across the border illegally will stop entering through the state of Texas. And where the cartels may take them after that, I have no idea.

What about someone who's already here and came in last year and is in Texas now? What's your message to that person?

The personnel that are focused on the mission of SB4 are in the border region? That said, there are cases that will expand beyond that. As an example, you'll have people who cross the border illegally, they'll get into a vehicle, there will be a smuggler driving them. It could be at San Antonio, it could be at a Houston, it could be wherever they're going. And there is a lawful way now that law enforcement has where they can trace down that car and arrest the smuggler, as well as arrest those that came across the border illegally.

Governor, are you trying to overturn Arizona versus The United States?

We believe this law has been crafted in a way that can and should be upheld by the courts on its own without having to overturn the Arizona case. That said, it does open up the possibility for the Supreme Court to reconsider the Arizona case, remembering that Justice Scalia wrote a dissenting opinion in that case pretty much laying out a pathway that he thought would be a legal way for a state to go about the process of enforcing immigration laws. So again, we think that Texas already has a constitutional authority to do this, but we also welcome a Supreme Court decision that would overturn the precedent set in the Arizona case.

Governor-

I'll let her follow up.

I wanted to ask-

Say it again?

... will there be training for police officers? Because the bill does not appropriate money to train police officers, and at least one union in Texas is very concerned that police officers are not going to prepared to enforce the law. How do you plan to train police officers to make sure that they can enforce the law in Texas?

So a police officer, a law enforcement officer, does not get to take duty on the streets without being trained. Training is a core component of someone who gets the badge and gets the responsibility to patrol the streets.

Governor-

[inaudible 00:29:36] two more questions, guys.

Will the trespassing arrests continue? And what about these arrests, these trespassing arrests, make you feel that it's a successful strategy to keep implementing?

So we believe that the trespassing arrest... So you're talking about the trespassing arrest, not this. It's hard to say whether or not the trespassing arrest will continue with the effectiveness of SB4. SB4 may replace the arrest for trespassing. That said, it's very important to understand anyone trespassing can still be subject to arrest, and so both can work together at the same time. It's just that with regard to SB4, especially for those who are caught in act now crossing the border illegally, it seems like the tools in SB4 are stronger, especially as it concerns setting the precedent for a repeat offender who could wind up behind bars for 20 years.

Governor-

We have time for one more question, guys.

What will happen? Mexico has said they likely would not accept the migrants texas wants to send back. What will happen [inaudible 00:30:44]?

What would happen if Texas doesn't accept the migrants that Mexico sends to Texas?

But the laws is [inaudible 00:30:51]-

Exactly. Listen, we're a border and it goes both ways. Mexico can stop all of this. Mexico actually is a cause of part of this. Why is Mexico allowing so many illegal immigrants into their country and then fast-tracking them to the state of Texas? What López Obrador has done is reprehensible, subjecting thousands upon thousands of people to torture, to rape, to assault, to even death, and he just fast-tracks them to the state of Texas and thinks he can condemn Texas because of it. That's outrageous. He needs to understand that he is a large reason for the migration problem that we have in the United States of America.

What will happen to the migrants that are trying to be sent back-

We're going to send them right back to Mexico. Thank y'all very much.

Appreciate it.

Good job.

Understand [inaudible 00:31:53]-