Where's Biden's 'Border Czar' Kamala? Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott writes stern letter to VP demanding she visit the border and give urgent answers on the crisis
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a stern letter to Vice President Kamala Harris demanding she provide answers on the immigration crisis and visit the border now that she's President Joe Biden's 'Border Czar.'
'Now that President Biden has named you Border Czar in charge of the administration’s response, I want to express to you the threats and challenges caused by this administration's open border policies,' Abbott wrote in a letter Tuesday, obtained by Fox News Channel.
A week ago, Biden tapped Harris to 'lead our efforts' with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries 'that need help in stemming the movement' of people toward the U.S border.
A smuggler paddles a boat filled with migrants across the Rio Grande river into the United States on Tuesday
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (left) sent a stern letter to Vice President Kamala Harris (right) over the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border with specific concerns about unaccompanied migrant children he suspected were being trafficked
The Biden administration allowed journalists into the main detention facility for migrant children on Tuesday in Donna, Texas. Photographs show the severe overcrowding, where more than 4,000 kids and families were crammed into pods
Another view of migrant children resting inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley in Donna, Texas
In Mission, Texas a group of migrants is processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents Tuesday night. The group came from mostly Central American countries
A family of migrants walks to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents to request asylum after crossing the Rio Brvo river in El Paso, Texas
A group of migrants arrives in the U.S. after crossing the Rio Grande in a raft piloted by smugglers on Tuesday night. They turned themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents to request asylum after traveling from Honduras
A group of migrants enters the U.S. after crossing the Rio Grande in a raft Tuesday night
A migrant woman and her daughter have their biometric data entered at an intake area in Donna, Texas on Tuesday
That was widely interpreted as Biden putting Harris in charge of what the White House was first resistant in calling a 'crisis' at the U.S.-Mexico border, as migrants have flooded in.
The White House has had to clarify several times that Harris would be dealing with the root causes of migration and not, specifically, border security.
Harris will be 'engaging with these countries; engaging with their leaders; figuring out how to invest best, how to work in partnership, how to prevent corruption from taking over; to put in place steps that will make the journey less desirable - that is certainly a big assignment and one the president is confident the vice president will take on and do well,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.
'That was always the plan, and that was the announcement,' Psaki added.
Still, in his letter, Abbott pointed a finger at the White House as he wrote about the humanitarian crisis on the ground in Texas, particularly for unaccompanied minors.
In a change of policy from former President Donald Trump, minors who come over the border now aren't sent directly back and instead are supposed to go from Customs and Border Patrol custody to Health and Human Services facilities, though the spike has created a backlog.
Biden has said his administration seeks a reversal from the hardliner Trump years and wants to create a 'fair and humane' immigration system.
A father and son from Honduras stand with a group of migrants as they are processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after arriving in Roma, Texas on Tuesday
Haitian migrants walk after illegally crossing the Rio Bravo in an attempt to get to El Paso, Texas
A group of Haitian migrants are captured illegally crossing the Rio Bravo river as they attempt to get to El Paso, Texas on Tuesday
Women and children are seen crossing the Rio Bravo River to El Paso, Texas on Tuesday
Abbott said the Biden administration's policies 'embolden and enrich cartels, smugglers, and human traffickers who continue to ramp up their criminal operations.'
'In many cases, these criminals lure unaccompanied minors into inhumane conditions and expose them to abuse and terror,' he said.
Abbott sent a list of questions to Harris, including how officials are screening the children to identify potential victims of abuse.
Abbott also wanted to know how many victims of abuse have already been identified.
Abbott asked how the U.S. government is ensuring that the children aren't being released back to traffickers in the United States - and whether DNA testing was being utilized.
'The thought of any child suffering at the hands at human traffickers is unacceptable,' he wrote. 'Given your new role as the administration's Border Czar, I urge you to visit the border to see the crisis for yourself, and I implore the Biden administration to take swift action to secure the border, crack down on human trafficking, and prevent more children from being trafficked and abused.'
Neither Biden nor Harris have scheduled a trip to the southern border, as Republican critics hammer the administration for the uptick in migrants.
In turn, Americans are giving Biden lower marks on immigration than on other areas, like handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Marist poll that came out Tuesday showed that 53 per cent of respondents disapproved of Biden's performance on immigration, compared to the 38 per cent who approved.
Biden has expressed that most of the border crossers are being sent back - with the biggest change being that unaccompanied minors can stay in the U.S., which was also Trump's policy, but pre-pandemic.
The Washington Post reported that the surge is mostly the standard seasonal increase - most border crossings happen in warmer weather - topped with a group of migrants who had waited out the pandemic in 2020.
