By: Tadi Abedje

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently issued an executive order that would allow state troopers to check vehicles if they suspect they are transporting  any immigrants who had crossed the border unlawfully. The governor has stated the reasoning for the executive order is the state’s increase in COVID-19 cases. 

According to the USA Facts website, “12,630,423 people or 43% of Texas’s population has been fully vaccinated.” 

Critics of the executive order have said that it could lead to racial profiling of immigrants and that Abbott doesn’t care. It is one of Abbott’s oppositions to President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. He is up for re-election for 2022. 

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Attorney General Merrick Garland is pleading with the Texas Governor to repeal the executive order, as it would compromise the well-being of non-citizens. 

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“Among other harms, the order would exacerbate and prolong overcrowding in facilities and shelters and obstruct the federal government’s arrangements with state, local and nongovernmental partners to ensure that released individuals are transported for appropriate COVID-19 testing to address public health concerns,” Garland said in a letter to Abbott.  

But Abbott isn’t backing down and will challenge any actions by the Justice Department and the Biden Administration. He said that he will do everything in his power to protect the citizens of Texas. 

“In short, the Biden Administration is jeopardizing the health and safety of Texans on a daily basis by refusing to follow the law. And it’s not just Texans; these irresponsible policies and actions by the Biden Administration are endangering the lives of many Americans as well as the unlawful immigrants themselves,” Abbott said in a press release on his website.