DOJ lawsuit over new Texas border security law 'outrageous': Abbott

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) panned the Department of Justice's (DOJ) suit over the state's new immigration and border security law, calling it "outrageous" while pledging to continue to "repel migrants" from the state.

"We are actually involved in three legal actions with the Biden administration right now where the Biden administration is trying to stop Texas from denying illegal entry into the country," Abbott said Thursday during an interview with Fox Business Network's "Varney & Co."

"If the Biden administration would put that time into securing the border, as opposed to stopping Texas from securing the border, then we wouldn't have a problem whatsoever," Abbott continued. "But because Joe Biden and the Democrats refused to secure the border, Texas has and we will continue to erect barriers, repel migrants, as well as bus and fly migrants to New York, Chicago and other places like that."

The DOJ on Wednesday filed suit against the Lone Star State, asking a federal judge to rule that Texas's new border security law violates the U.S. Constitution and to stop the state from enforcing the law.

The law, called Senate Bill 4 or S.B. 4, was enacted last month and has been scheduled to take effect March 5. The bill would permit any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest those suspected of illegal entry into the country. Upon arrest, migrants would either have to agree to a judge's order to leave the U.S. or face misdemeanor charges of illegal entry.

The federal government claims the law is a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, pointing to a 2012 Supreme Court ruling — Arizona v. United States — when the country's highest court decided federal immigration laws often trump state law even if there isn't a direct conflict.

The federal government is responsible for regulating immigration and controlling international borders, but Abbott, along with some other state leaders, claim the Biden administration is not doing enough to curb the influx of illegal migrants.

S.B. 4 is Abbott's latest move to protest the federal government's border policies. Over the past year, Abbott has sent buses and flights of migrants to Democratic-led cities along with authorizing more construction for the border wall.

Some mayors of these so-called sanctuary cities have taken aim at Abbott for sending migrants to their cities.

When asked about these mayors Thursday, Abbott told Fox Business, "It's just stunning that these mayors are blaming me, as opposed to the president of the United States, because it's the president of the United States that has the authority to fix this, just like President Trump was able to fix it."

Abbott repeated claims that Biden, alongside Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, is not applying the laws already passed by Congress to stop the flow of migrants.

"And that's exactly why Texas has taken matters into our own hands. And we are building our own border wall," Abbott said, later pointing to the state's installation of razor wire along the southern border.

Officials with the Biden administration have pushed back against the wire, arguing it could have “serious on-the-ground consequences” for border patrol agents and migrants coming into the U.S.