Gov. Brian Kemp will join a contingent of Republican officials at the U.S. border this weekend to back Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s standoff with President Joe Biden over immigration policies.
Kemp is one of 15 GOP governors headed to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, where Texas officials have put up a system of concertina wire along the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from illegally crossing into the U.S.
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration last week by allowing U.S. Border Patrol agents to cut or remove parts of the barrier. Abbott ordered officials to continue to roll out the wire despite the court’s 5-4 decision, saying Texas had a right to prevent what he called an “invasion” of migrants.
Kemp’s visit to the border comes amid a growing political battle over immigration in an election year where the issue has already emerged as a pressing priority for many voters.
The number of people illegally crossing into the U.S. from Mexico has reached record levels, and Biden recently vowed to shut down the border “right now” if Congress gave him the authority.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan Senate deal has stalled in Congress that would make it harder for migrants to apply for asylum once they’ve entered the country illegally, and former President Donald Trump has vowed to “fight it all the way” to complicate Biden’s reelection bid.
Kemp, for his part, has said Biden and his allies have missed too many chances to stop illegal border crossings.
“Every state is a border state now, and that includes Georgia,” Kemp told Fox News earlier this week. “That’s why we’re standing strong with Gov. Abbott to stop the insanity at the southern border because the president and the White House won’t.”
About the Author
