Abbott: Walz a border crisis denier who supports Minnesota as sanctuary state

(The Center Square) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blasted Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, for choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, calling him “dangerous” and “radical.” He also blasted Walz as a border crisis denier, for opposing border wall funding, and advocating for Minnesota to be a so-called sanctuary state.

“California liberal Kamala Harris’ selection of radical leftist Tim Walz as her running mate” would create “the most radical and dangerous administration in modern history,” Abbott said. “Tim Walz will be a rubberstamp for Kamala Harris' deadly open border policies, refusing to admit there is a border crisis, opposing border wall funding, and supporting sanctuary cities.”

In social media posts, he said, “Harris/Walz – the most dangerous P/VP ticket ever. He let cities in his state burn down. She helped bail out the arsonists. She supports free health care to illegal immigrants. He signed laws giving state services to them. Both provide magnets for more illegal immigration.”

When asked in January, as record numbers of foreign nationals illegally crossed the border, if it constituted a border crisis, Walz appeared to waffle. In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, he said, “I think it could be fixed. I think crisis is, you know, we certainly have these, I don't want people living outside Minnesota right now. I think there's the humanity piece of this and then there's the right that every sovereign nation has a right to control its borders as we should.”

Walz also blamed Congress, saying, “More could be done but they're doing nothing. Congress is doing nothing. The president is asking for more aid,” referring to a Senate-negotiated bill that didn't pass the Democratic-controlled Senate. When asked, “Do you think the is border secure?” Walz hedged, saying, “I think the border with the folks who do the work down there are doing a great job.”

Multiple Office of Inspector General and congressional reports have found that Border Patrol and other federal agents are releasing known or suspected terrorists and violent criminals into the U.S., as warnings of imminent national security threats increase, The Center Square has reported.

In 2018, Walz openly opposed former president Donald Trump’s plan to build and finance the border wall, saying it was “ridiculous” and one of the “stupidest things I’ve ever heard.”

On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he halted construction of the border wall and Texas immediately sued. Texas just won its final battle in court, with the outcome resulting in the administration being required to finish building the wall.

Abbott also began constructing Texas’ first border wall as part of his border security mission, Operation Lone Star, saying Texas would do what Biden-Harris would not.

When asked in an interview with KARE 11 News five years ago when he was running for governor if Minnesota should be a sanctuary state, Walz said it should. “If the definition of that is that the federal government enforces immigration law and local law enforcement enforces local law, then yes,” he replied.

When asked if Minnesota cities should “be allowed to be sanctuary cities,” he replied, “yes, local control.”

Abbott has taken a different approach, prioritizing busing foreign nationals he argues were unlawfully released by the Biden-Harris administration into Texas to six self-described sanctuary cities. He’s also called out Harris as Biden’s border czar for refusing to go to the border, even at the height of the border crisis.

After Harris was appointed border czar in March 2021, Abbott urged her to visit the border.

“I implored the Vice President, in her capacity as President Biden’s point-person on illegal immigration, i.e. Border Czar, to take swift action to address nine urgent concerns, including cracking down on human trafficking and preventing more children from being trafficked and abused as a result of the border crisis,” he said.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, four times the population of Houston have illegally entered the country, including more than 1,700 on the terrorist watch list, The Center Square first reported . Both are the greatest numbers recorded in U.S. history.

Since January 2021, nearly every month and year, new records are broken with the greatest number of apprehensions at the southwest and northern borders, the most apprehensions of known or suspected terrorists , criminal noncitizens and gang members , and largest seizure amounts of weapons and drugs in U.S. history, The Center Square has reported.

Harris “has never bothered to respond to my letter or even trouble herself to see the border crisis that she helped create,” Abbott said.

Abbott pointed to two recent victims of violent crimes committed by Venezuelan men illegally in the country because of Biden-Harris policies. They include a murdered 12-year-old Houstonian, Jocelyn Nungaray, who “would be alive today,” and a recently shot San Antonio police officer who “would be unharmed had Vice President Harris taken her job seriously.”