Abbott to Biden: Send help to El Paso, other border communities amid migrant crisis, freeze

AUSTIN — Amid a worsening migrant crisis in El Paso and temperatures expected to drop below freezing, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday called on President Biden to send more federal assistance to communities along the border.

"These communities and the state are ill-equipped to do the job assigned to the federal government — house the thousands of migrants flooding into the country every day," Abbott said in a letter to the president. "With perilous temperatures moving into the area, many of these migrants are at risk of freezing to death on city streets.

"Your policies will leave many people in the bitter, dangerous cold as a polar vortex moves into Texas," the governor added.

Abbott, a Republican preparing to enter his third term and one of the nation's most vocal about the Democratic administration's border and immigration policies, warned in a news release that federal inaction at the "southern border ... is putting the lives of migrants at risk, with thousands of men, women, and children illegally crossing into Texas every day."

The buildup along the border coincided with the planned end to the Trump-era COVID containment policy known as Title 42, which allows federal authorities to expel asylum seekers who cross into the United States and designated checkpoints.

The policy was expected to end Wednesday, but U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts ordered it kept in place at least temporarily to give the Supreme Court more time to consider requests by several GOP governors and attorneys general to prevent any rollback of the policy.

In a brief interview with the USA TODAY Network minutes after Roberts' order was announced, Abbott praised the move.

More:El Paso readies for 'whatever happens' as humanitarian crisis persists

"It's fantastic," Abbott said following a Hanukkah ceremony outside the Capitol where he participated in the lighting of the Menorah.

In his letter to Biden, which accompanied Tuesday's news release, the governor repeated his oft-stated assertion that the administration policies have strapped states along the Mexican border with "a lopsided burden."

"The need to address this crisis is not the job of border states like Texas, "Abbott wrote. "Instead, the U.S. Constitution dictates that it is your job, Mr. President, to defend the borders of our country, regulate our nation's immigration, and manage those who seek refuge here."

Abbott also said in his letter that Texas plans to boost state aid at the border as the Arctic front approaches.

On Saturday, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency because of the renewed influx of migrants.

More:El Paso mayor declares state of emergency in response to growing migrant crisis

Abbott's letter came the same day as the White House confirmed that Biden plans to travel to Mexico City next month for the North American Leaders' Summit and that he will meet with Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

It was not immediately clear how much the immigration crisis would be part of the discussions on Jan. 9-10.

National Security Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, in a report by USA TODAY, said the summit's topics would include climate and environmental challenges, the North American nations' economic competitiveness, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, health and safety measures and migration issues.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Greg Abbott: Migrants could 'freeze to death' without more federal aid