Houston Chronicle by Jeremy Wallace 10/28/2021
Shutting down trade, shooting across the Rio Grande: Gov. Abbott's GOP rivals talk border security
Troops would be firing across the border and $250 billion of annual trade with Mexico would be completely shut down under plans outlined by two of Gov. Greg Abbott’s primary opponents during a debate Wednesday night.
With immigration looming as the biggest issue in the Texas Republican primary, the candidates hoping to defeat Abbott in 2022 took turns trying to outdo one another over who would be most aggressive in taking Mexico to task for the historic surge of border crossings that started in the spring.
At the core of both plans is the deployment of thousands more Texas National Guard troops on the Rio Grande.
“I’ve been in firefights before,” said Allen West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel. “You will not see the Mexican cartels firing across the border into the state of Texas and we telling our National Guard that they can’t fire back. They will know we will shoot at them even before they begin to fire at us.”
Huffines called for sending more of the 20,000 Texas guard members to the border, but added that as governor he would shut down all 25 bridges between Texas and Mexico to block $250 billion worth of trade coming across the border.
“This is strategic,” he said. “Until they secure their side of the river and take it back from the cartels, not one truck from Mexico is going to enter Texas.”
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Shutting-down-trade-shooting-across-the-Rio-16573293.php
