Abbott's battle with President Joe Biden is a war of words right now with the governor declaring his state has a "right to self-defense." Abbott issued a lengthy statement Wednesday saying that as thousands of illegals flow across the southern border daily, and the federal government opposes Texas' efforts to stem that flow, the feds have disregarded their mandate to protect states.
Now Abbott is defying Biden and putting the state's constitutional right into action – and Ricketts, now a Republican member of the U.S. Senate, is on his side.
"What Gov. Abbott's doing is something to protect his state. It's what any governor would try to do in such a catastrophic situation," Sen. Ricketts, the former Nebraska governor, said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
Ricketts contends the Biden administration has intentionally stalled any meaningful talks to solve the crisis. It's easy to see, he said – and they're not fooling voters.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released earlier this week said immigration surpassed inflation as the nation's most pressing concern. Thirty-five percent of registered voters place immigration in the top spot, rising seven points in a month. Inflation was not far behind, second at 32%. Inflation's sister issue, "economy and jobs" was third at 25%.
"This is a top issue among voters because we have an undefended southern border," Ricketts stated.
Concern for the border isn't found only in the South and Southwest. Immigration was the most important issue for Republicans in both Iowa and New Hampshire at the just-completed caucuses and primary. Immigration concerns hit 40% in both states, Fox News reported.
Rickets told show host Tony Perkins that one of Biden's greatest abuses at the border is his power of parole for illegals. The Obama and Trump administrations both granted parole about 5,600 times a year on average. Last year, Biden paroled 1.2 million people, Ricketts noted.
"People are not well aware of just how he's abusing parole," he said. "That's to be used in case of extreme humanitarian need or for our national defense if there's something in the interest of our country. Now about 85% of the people who are trying to cross this border are just being let go into our country."
Ricketts: Illegals are gaming the asylum process
Asylum is a form of protection granted to foreign nationals already in the U.S. or arriving at the border who meet the international law definition of a refugee due to past persecution or a legitimate fear of being persecuted in the future, according to the American Immigration Council. The AIC further states, "Asylum seekers must navigate a difficult and complex process that can involve multiple government agencies."
"I've been to the border four times and I've talked to people coming across, and they're looking for a better job. That's not a reason for asylum. Asylum is if you cannot find a safe place within your own country," Ricketts said.
Parole and asylum are points "the Democrats do not want to give up on," Ricketts said.
Texas has consistently voted Republican in recent presidential elections. Rapid population growth has made it even more coveted on those November nights when the votes are tallied as it has added two or more electoral votes in each U.S. Census since 1980, according to 270towin.com which grades the state as "reliably red."
Texas will have 40 electoral votes this fall.
The popular theory for Biden's push for an open border is to turn Texas into a Democrat-leaning state.
The House passed its border bill on May 11, hours before Title 42, an immigration order signed by Trump, was set to expire. Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called it the "strongest border security bill to come through Congress in more than 100 years."
Known as the "Secure the Border Act," H.R. 2 would restart construction of a border wall and require asylum-seekers to be sent back to Mexico while their immigration cases were heard.
ABC News predicted then that the "bill will likely die in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and the White House has issued a veto threat."
Biden assures that border talks move slowly
Talks continue on a compromise bill – but slowly and with no real promise, Ricketts said.
"The negotiations continue to drag out. I just want to point out one other thing about the president: He didn't really start seriously engaging on this issue until the middle of December," he said.
"So, for Democrats to say they've been at it for months … Senate Democrats, yes, but the White House has not. They've hardly been engaged until almost the Christmas holidays, and that's one of the reasons why [a border bill] is taking a long time. In fact, I think it just goes to show the White House really doesn't want to fix the problem at the southern border. They could if they wanted to, they really just don't – and that's why the negotiations continue to stall."
