Greg Abbott Shouldn't Have to Deal With Migrants Alone, Democrat Mayor Says

Texas Governor Greg Abbott shouldn't have to handle the influx of migrants at the border alone, according to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

"I do understand why he's busing them," Johnston told Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones. "I think his [Abbott's] take is that no one state should have to carry the entire weight of this newcomer population.... I think no one state should, and I think no one city should."

Johnston, a Democrat, said on the Fox News show that he reached out to the GOP governor in hopes of working together to deal with the influx of migrants crossing the border in Texas. Since April 2022, the Abbott administration has bused thousands of migrants from Texas to six cities.

Newsweek reached out to Abbott's press office via email for comment.

Over the past few weeks, the dispute between Abbott and President Joe Biden over the handling of migrants arriving in Texas has intensified. The U.S. Supreme Court recently sided with Biden, ruling that Texas must remove razor wire and other barriers along the border near Eagle Pass, Texas. But Abbott has attempted to defy the order, saying that he has federal constitutional authority to "defend" his state against the influx of migrants.

"The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense," Abbott said in a statement last week. "For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary."

In a statement this week, Biden responded to criticism of his handling of the border issue, saying, "For too long, we all know the border's been broken.... That's why two months ago I instructed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators to seriously, and finally, address the border crisis. For weeks now that's what they've done."

This is not the first time Johnston has spoken about issues related to the U.S.-Mexico border.

"We are here to focus on the migrant crisis and how we can bring mayors together to really push Congress and federal government to take action. We need federal resources to help migrants who are arriving in Denver, and so they can support themselves, which is what they've asked most urgently to be able to do," Johnston told Denver's KCNC-TV earlier this month.

Johnston continued, "We know the president has pushed a federal supplemental budget for more security at the border and more officers to help adjudicate asylum claims.... We know those dollars are there. We have Senate support. We have the president's support. We need the House to come forward."