Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday ripped President Joe Biden's proposed plan for stemming illegal immigration and said it's "about time" Biden visits the U.S.-Mexico border to see the "chaos" his administration has caused.
The White House a day earlier announced a new policy that will accept 30,000 migrants per month from four nations but crack down on those who fail to use the plan's legal pathways.
"I think what his proposal is going to do is to entice even more people to come here illegally," Abbott said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"Biden talked about the Republicans having no plan. Republicans do have a plan to secure the border. Biden has no plan to secure the border. Americans are angry and frustrated. It's time for Biden to lay out details about how he will stop illegal immigrants coming across our border."
Biden said his policy will grant humanitarian "parole" to eligible migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
"Do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are, and apply legally from there," Biden said in a nationally televised address. "Starting today, if you don't apply through the legal process, you will not be eligible for this new parole program."
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice on Thursday also released details of a "transit ban" that prohibits migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. unless they are first turned away for safe harbor by another country.
The rule, which will not go into effect until DHS and the DOJ hear public comment on it, would also declare ineligible migrants who don't go through authorized ports of entry.
Biden said the new details announced Thursday "won't fix our entire immigration system, but they can help us a good deal in better managing what is a difficult challenge." He added: "Until Congress passes the funds, a comprehensive immigration plan to fix the system completely, my administration is going to work to make things at the border better using the tools that we have."
Biden scheduled to visit the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday to "assess border enforcement operations" and "meet with local officials." The visit comes before his trip to Mexico City for the "Three Amigos" summit.
Abbott said Biden should follow former President Trump's lead on the border.
"Under the Trump administration, we had the lowest border crossings in decades. It took only a year under the Biden administration to have the most illegal border crossings ever. And what Biden is laying out right now is not going to reduce that," Abbott said.
"His catch-and-release program is not enforcing laws that require them to detain people who've come across the border illegally. And he's just letting them loose. And that is promoting and enticing more people to come to our country illegally."
"They're not fooling anybody," Abbott added. "That border is open because of the Biden administration. We've had about as many people cross the border illegally in the past year alone as we have residents of Houston, Texas."