Abbott aims to restrict immigrant travel across Texas, citing increase in Covid-19 infections

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order to restrict border entry into Texas, saying the action will reduce Covid-19 infections, as his party continues to criticize the president’s management of the border.

The movement comes about a month after the governor promised to build a border wall in Texas, a nod to former President Donald Trump’s plan to curb migration. The Republican Party chastised the Biden administration’s handling of increased border crossings, urging Vice President Kamala Harris to travel to the US-Mexico border and criticizing the trip she made in June..

Abbott’s order seeks to “restrict ground transportation of migrants who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19 to communities in Texas.” The order ordered the state’s Department of Public Security to stop and confuse “any vehicle on reasonable suspicion of such violation.”