Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines criticized Democrats and current Governor Greg Abbott while calling for the border to be closed.
Huffines has been a staunch advocate for the border wall proposed by former President Donald Trump. As part of his campaign he listed border security as a top priority, saying on his website that while the federal government won’t secure the border, as governor he will do it. Recently, Huffines called out Democrats for being “condescending” on the matter of illegal immigrants.
“Hispanics in Texas are tired of the Democrat party condescending to them about illegal aliens,” said Huffines. “Texans of all races are affected by the wave of crime caused by lax border policies. It’s no wonder that even those who vote Democrat are angry about Biden and Abbott’s response to this invasion. Texas needs a courageous leader that is willing to close our border and build a wall; when I am Governor, I will.”
According to a recent poll by the Dallas Morning News, 49% of Latino voters don’t approve of how President Joe Biden is handling the border crisis. As for Abbott, 52% approve of his handling of the border.
A Quinnipiac poll conducted from Dec. 2 through 6 showed that 33% of Texans say that border security is the state's most urgent issue. This was followed by the economy at 11%, abortion at 9%, Covid-19 at 8% and election integrity at 8%. Also, 51% of Texans surveyed support a border wall. This includes 85% of Republicans, 48% of independents and only 10% of Democrats.
According to a report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the first three months of Fiscal Year 2022, agents have encountered 518,360 people attempting to enter the country illegally. In the same time period in FY 2021, CBP agents encountered 218,036 people trying to enter the country illegally, and in 2020, that number was 128,347.
Gov. Abbott was elected in 2014 and is the 48th governor of Texas. On March 1 he will be challenged in the gubernatorial primary by Huffines, a former state senator and the CEO of Huffines Communities, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based real estate development firm.
