Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has invited a dozen other state attorneys general to the southern border later this week to witness firsthand what is happening there.
Slated for Thursday and Friday, the border tour will make stops in McAllen, Edinburg, Weslaco and Rio Grande City, according to a press release from Paxton's office.
According to The Federalist, there have been more than 100,000 arrests at the southern border every month since last February. As a candidate, President Joe Biden spent months pushing open border policies and promised he would undo the border security protections enacted by then-President Donald Trump.
Just three months into fiscal 2022, the United States has recorded nearly half a million southwestern border encounters, with border apprehensions on track to exceed 2 million. By comparison, there were a record-breaking 1.7 million apprehensions in fiscal 2021.
In early December, the Biden administration announced it was restarting the Trump-era ''Remain in Mexico'' policy, following a deal with the Mexican government, CNN reported.
Formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, the policy requires migrants to wait outside the United States for their immigration court hearings.
Biden had ended the policy when he took office, calling it inhumane. Officials in Texas and Missouri, however, sued the administration last April over the suspension, and a federal judge in Texas ordered its reinstatement.
In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the state would construct its own border wall and authorized the transfer of $250 million as a down payment.
"The State of Texas has taken comprehensive action to secure our southern border and address the border crisis while President Biden has sat idly by," Abbott, a Republican, said at a press conference debuting the construction last month.
"Today not only represents the first phase of the Texas border wall, but it also serves as a major milestone in our efforts to combat illegal immigration, stop the smuggling of drugs and people, and keep our communities safe," he said.
Paxton, a Republican, and his colleagues are scheduled to meet with officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for briefings, a border wall tour, and a boat tour on the Rio Grande.
''Biden's disastrous immigration policies have wreaked havoc on our communities and placed a massive burden on our state and nation,'' Paxton said. ''Because of the scale of this crisis, the effects of unprecedented levels of illegal immigration are felt by all states.''
The attorneys general of Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia are attending Paxton's border summit, according to the release.
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