Obama's Failure to Enforce Law Caused Humanitarian Crisis, says Abbott and Cruz

by Bob Price

Jun 23, 2014 11:56 AM PT

MCALLEN, Texas—Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) blamed President Barrack Obama's failure to enforce the law on creating a massive humanitarian crisis on the Texas border. Abbott and Cruz visited the facility at Lackland Air Force Base, near San Antonio, where unaccompanied children who have entered the country illegally are being warehoused by the Obama Administration. Up to 1,200 children are being housed in the dormitory normally used for Air Force military training recruits.

“We are witnessing a humanitarian crisis unfolding that is the direct consequence of President Obama’s lawlessness,” Sen. Cruz said in a press release obtained by Breitbart Texas. “We just toured this Air Force facility, where up to 1,200 children are being cared for … but they have come through harrowing circumstances.”

“When the President of the United States prevents the Border Patrol from following the law, and enforcing our immigration laws, when the President of United States announces to the world amnesty for those who have broken the law, the consequence is people respond to that, and the way they respond to that is handing over their children to drug dealers and vicious cartels,” Cruz continued.

Breitbart Texas was out on the border last night and witnessed the capture of nearly fifty women and children who had just crossed the Rio Grande River after beginning their dangerous trek in Honduras and Guatemala. Many other children are also coming from El Salvador. 

“It is unacceptable to have children housed in facilities like this,” Abbott said according tothe Texas Tribune. “Equally unacceptable, though, is to have a president promoting policies that entice children to navigate more than a thousand miles away from home, going through the most treacherous conditions, facing things like human trafficking and sexual assault.”

Both Abbott and Cruz called the situation a “humanitarian crisis” and blamed the Obama Administration for failing to secure the border. General Abbott and Sen. Cruz have called on the federal government to reimburse Texasfor the costs borne by Texas taxpayers for having to use state resources to secure the border.

Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus announced a new Texas border surgeto apply more state and local law enforcement resources to respond to the growing border crisis.

“We are dealing with a heartbreaking humanitarian nightmare here in Texas, but it is clearly a man-made crisis,” Abbott said in a press release obtained by Breitbart Texas. “The Obama Administration’s inconsistent policies and failure to enforce the rule of law have created this crisis at the border. President Obama’s failure to secure the border has empowered transnational gangs and cartel to smuggle people into our state from around the world – including members of deadly gangs like MS13.”

“Inaction by the federal government has left Texas with no other choice but to activate the immediate deployment of the Texas Department of Public Safety.” Abbott continued. “Even though the federal government is not fulfilling its responsibility, the State of Texas will continue its operations while pushing for the feds to foot the bill. We will continue to push for the federal government to live up to its responsibility and fully fund the surge and resources deployed along the Texas border.”

Senator Cruz concluded his remarks stating, “This is heartbreaking, but we need to act to stop it by number one finally securing the border and number two, by not offering amnesty which only incentivizes more and more people to violate the law and in this instance endanger the safety and lives of their kids.”

Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.

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