'His argument has no legs': Internet shreds Gov Abbott as he walks back remark implying Texas would shoot migrants

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Governor Greg Abbott of Texas defended his statement that the state is doing all that is possible to prevent illegal border crossings, short of shooting people, on Friday.

On January 5, Governor Abbott declared on Dana Loesch's conservative radio show that Texas is employing every tool and method available to halt migrants at the border.

He said, “The only thing we are not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.”

At the end of Friday's news conference on the state’s preparedness whilst anticipating severe weather conditions in the upcoming days, Abbott stated that in the interview with Loesch, he was pointing out what would be illegal to do.

Governor Abbott clarified before quickly ending the news conference, "I was asked to point out about where the line is drawn about what would be illegal and I pointed out something that is obviously illegal.”

What did Gov Greg Abbott say in his podcast interview?

The disturbing audio recording of the Texas Governor's remark was initially circulated by the outlet Heartland Signal, which posted it on X, (formerly Twitter), on Thursday, January 12, per a report by NBC News.

Loesch had asked Gov Abbott to elaborate on border control's "hierarchy"

She enquired, “What can be done right up to the line, where maybe they would come and say, 'Governor, you are breaking the law?'... What is the maximum amount of pressure that you as governor can implement to protect the border?”

Gov Abbott replied, "We are using every tool that can be used, from building a border wall to building these border barriers to passing this law that I signed that led to another lawsuit by the Biden administration where I signed a law making it illegal for somebody to enter Texas from another country, and they're subject to arrest and subject to deportation."

"And so we are deploying every tool and strategy that we possibly can. The only thing that we're, we're not doing is we're not shooting people who come across the border because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder," the three-term Republican added.

Gilbert Hinojosa, the Texas Democratic Party chairman, stated in a news release and on X, “The only thing stopping Greg Abbott from ordering law enforcement to shoot migrant women and children are murder charges.”

Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations Office castigated Abbott's comments in a statement that read, "Mexico expresses its absolute concern at any type of expression that encourages violent acts and the dehumanization of the migrant community. We respect human rights and denounce all types of aggressive insinuations against a person’s life."

When a reporter at Friday's news conference questioned if his statements could be used by someone like the El Paso shooter, who killed 23 people, largely Hispanics, in a Walmart attack in the summer of 2019, Gov. Abbott replied, "Absolutely not."

Internet slams Texas Governor

People on X denounced Governor Greg Abbott for his outrageous remark at a radio podcast earlier this month where he came close to inciting violence with his incendiary solution to keep migrants from entering the United States of America.

One X user remarked, "His argument has no legs. You see what I did there."

Another user wrote, "These feels like literary foreshadowing. I won’t be surprised if mass graves are discovered."

"Immigration enforcement is not in a state Governor's wheelhouse," another user stated.

One user said, "Nah..at this point clearly (even some REPS admit) GOP has realized problem at the border is more valuable to RW elections than would be ANY solution.. so instead of actually seeking solutions, GOP is investing millions of tax-dollars on unsustainable stunts."

Another X user quipped, "Texas Rs are many things but one thing they aren’t is pro life."

One user tweeted, "So Abbott is doing illegal things to keep immigrants (legal and illegal) from coming into the US because immigrants do illegal things."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.