Former Trump official calls for giving state troopers and National Guard members new authority to turn back migrants.
QUICK FACTS:
- Tom Homan, the former acting director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, is calling on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to declare an “invasion” along the U.S.-Mexico border and to give thousands of state troopers and National Guard members sweeping new authority to turn back migrants, The Associated Press reports.
- “We’ve had discussions with his attorneys in his office, ‘Is there a way to use this clause within the Constitution where it talks about invasion?'” Homan said during the Border Security Expo in San Antonio last week.
- On Tuesday, Homan described the response from Abbott’s office as “non-committal but willing to listen.”
18,000 MIGRANT ARRIVALS PER DAY EXPECTED:
- Border Patrol officials say they are planning for as many as 18,000 arrivals daily once the health policy, known as the Title 42 authority, expires in May, according to AP.
- Last week, about 7,100 migrants were coming a day to the southern U.S. border.
BACKGROUND:
- Homan’s urging comes as Gov. Abbott prepares to announce Wednesday “unprecedented actions” to deter migrants from coming to Texas after the Biden administration announced last week it will end the use of a public health law that has limited asylum to prevent the spread of COVID-19, AP reports.
- “We’ll be taking unprecedented action,” Abbott told radio station KCRS. “Congress has to stop talking about it, has to stop complaining about it, has to stop going to the border and looking at it. Congress has to take action, just like Texas is taking action.”
