Hundreds of Syrians Cross Border

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that hundreds of Syrians have already crossed the border into the United States.

Abbott, who appeared on “The Laura Ingraham Show,” said the FBI is well aware that “people from Syria, people from other countries of interest, are crossing our border to a large extent.”

The governor said: “I couldn’t even count the number … it’s in the hundreds, of the number of Syrians who have crossed our Southern border.”

Abbott argued the real number of crossings is drastically higher, as those who have not been apprehended are excluded in that count. Abbott claimed that “Syrians are crossing the northern border as well,” though he was unable to release evidence at this time

“Texas is not the only location,” he said.

Texas on Monday joined a growing movement of states that are rejecting Syrian refugees.

The governors of Alabama, Michigan, Arkansas and Louisiana had already announced that their states would not take refugees that President Obama plans to resettle in the United States. By Friday afternoon, the total number of states refusing the refugees had climbed above a dozen.

“What the president said today, and what he has said repeatedly, has been contradicted by the FBI director,” Texas Abbott said concerning Obama’s claims that the refugees could be properly vetted. He added that it is “insanity to allow these people to come into our country,” and charged that Obama is “putting Americans at danger.”

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Sunday his state would refuse refugees.

“As your governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm’s way,” he said in a news release.

The danger is not just theoretical, Abbott said. He pointed to three different terror-related incidents that have occurred in Texas, including a pair of “soldiers of the caliphate,” in the words of the Islamic State, who opened fire earlier this year at a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in a Dallas suburb.

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Abbott said Obama has failed, both by refusing to engage ISIS in the Middle East and by ignoring concerns about the potential for refugees to commit terrorist acts.

“They’ve turned into not just varsity, but the reigning champions,” he said, referring to Obama’s infamous description of the organization as the “JV squad.”

Abbott said it is important to acknowledge a global war on Christians. But he rejected former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s call to resettle Christians.

“We don’t have any ability to identify which of these people are Christians or which may be members of ISIS,” he said.

Abbott linked the refugee question to Obama’s immigration policies. 

Abbott linked the refugee question to Obama’s immigration policies. He said there is “definitive proof” that hundreds of people from Syria and other “countries of interest” are crossing the southern border.

“This resettlement has been taking place for years,” he said. “We have no idea what these Syrians are doing and the danger they may pose.”

He said Texas lawmakers approved a $1 billion plan to beef up state patrols of its border with Mexico.

“This is one of the reasons why Texas has taken the lead,” he said.

Abbott expressed compassion for the victims of war and oppression abroad, but added that the first job of any chief executive — whether it is the president or the governor — is to protect citizens.

“We must be humanitarian with the people of the United States of America,” he said.