Governor Greg Abbott endorsed the deployment of the U.S. military to the Mexican border on Tuesday in a joint appearance with Donald Trump's incoming "border czar"
before the two teamed up at the Rio Grande in Texas to feed turkey and dressing to National Guard troops who the state has stationed there.
The Republican leader of the second largest state used an interview on Fox News to take a shot at President Joe Biden and America in general before articulating some of the reasons for which he will be grateful heading into the Thanksgiving weekend.
Tom Homan, who Trump tapped to be the chief adviser on border security, joined Abbott the interview that Sean Hannity directed. Holman traveled with Abbott to stops in Eagle Pass and Edinburg for meals with Texas troops in an operation he launched at the border almost four years ago. Abbott emerged as Trump's most vocal defender on border security during the campaign for the White House that Democrats seized from him in 2020.
"It's very frustrating when we have a country and administration and president who are fighting back against the law - inviting all this illegal immigration into our country, bringing those people in who are committing those rapes, those murders, and crushing the families all across this entire country," Abbott explained.
"So I'm thankful that we finally have a president in President Trump, who's finally going to enforce the
laws of the United States of America," Abbott said. "I'm thankful that we have Tom Homan as the incoming border czar, who's going to help execute those laws and enforce those laws, and make sure we get back to restoring order.
"But also I'm thankful - especially this time of year - for what Tom's going to help me out with tomorrow," the Texas governor added before announcing that he and Homan planned to treat National Guard soldiers to turkey dinner on Thanksgiving eve at a border stop so they could "show them the gratitude they deserve."
Homan served acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for an 18-month span when Trump was president. While Homan won't actually have the authority to carry out the aggressive policies that he's vowed to pursue in his new role with Trump, he said he was optimistic that the Department of Defense would provide ample assistance with the new president's support for mass deportations and other strategies to combat the inflow of people he referred to as "illegal aliens."
Hannity noted that U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has argued that the military shouldn't be involved in migrant roundups - a job that he says should be left to ICE agents and the Border Patrol. "It's just sad that Rand Paul would say that," Homan replied.
Abbott suggested that the U.S. military could replicate the state's efforts by having federal troops erecting barriers that the governor has the Guard install in selective areas at the river that separates Mexico from Texas. Abbott said that half of the nation's governors had sent Guard troops to the border in Texas from their respective states.
"So these is a very meaningful role for the military in this situation," the Texas governor contended.
"We need as much manpower as we can get right now - because it's all hands on deck for us to be able to deny illegal entry and to deport all those who are here illegally," Abbott asserted. "It's a full time job. We need all the people we can get to do that job."
Abbott declined to mention that some National Guard members from places like New Hampshire had said they had little or nothing to do during assignments here. The Texas leader offered no opinion on the 25 percent tariffs that Trump has promised to impose on goods that are manufactured in Mexico and Canada and imported in the U.S.
Economists warn that the proposal could have a disastrous effect on Texas border cities while sending prices in the U.S. soaring on a wide range of products including cars and auto parts, agricultural goods and electronics such as computers, televisions and cell phones.
