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AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott will be at the Texas-Mexico border again Tuesday, one day after criticizing the Biden administration for its handling of the latest migrant surge.
Abbott will be in McAllen Tuesday, where he will sign a bill to beef up criminal penalties for people who are paid to smuggle migrants over the border. However, notably, Senate Bill 576 also eliminates the requirement that prosecutors prove that a smuggler intended to receive payment.
On Tuesday, Abbott was in Del Rio, where he delivered a press conference alongside state and local officials—claiming Texas’ has had to do the federal government’s job to try to secure the border.
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Currently, there are about 8,600 migrants, mostly Haitians, camped underneath the Del Rio International Bridge, waiting to be processed by customs officials. However, thousands have already been boarded on flights and sent back to Haiti.
President Joe Biden says his administration is working to get the situation under control, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insists the border is closed. That agency is now investigating the treatment of migrants by the Border Patrol in Del Rio. Agents were captured on video along the Rio Grande, appearing to charge at migrants on horseback.
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