Ready, fire, aim: Gov. Abbott keeps hitting the wrong targets on illegal immigration
Gov. Greg Abbott is relentlessly targeting the border issue in his re-election campaign.
The problem, as the old saying goes, is that he seems to think the sequence is ready, fire, aim.
In a radio interview Wednesday, Abbott said he wants to challenge a 40-year-old Supreme Court ruling that requires states to educate children who are in the country illegally. He pointed out the expense it entails and the more-complicated immigration picture of 2022 compared to 1982. But it sounded like he was determined to take it out on kids, not the federal government.
Abbott, a Republican seeking a third term, cleaned it up a little the next day, telling reporters he was talking about the inherent contradiction that the state cannot enforce immigration law but must bear the costs of Washington’s repeated failures on the issue.
He did the same thing with his order for stepped-up inspections of trucks entering from Mexico. His beef was with the feds’ inability to police migration and drug smuggling, but he ended up alienating trading partners and ordinary Texans already catching a fright over prices at the grocery store.
Abbott clearly believes that pounding away at immigration and the border is key to beating Beto O’Rourke. The vocal base of his party wants the toughest possible rhetoric and action, and Abbott is determined to please them.
A few such voters might be fine with pulling children out of the classroom. But most Republicans, let alone independents and even Democrats otherwise open to a message about border disorder, draw the line. Ranting about immigrants in the abstract is one thing; punishing specific children in our communities is another. After all, most people realize that those kids are probably going to remain here. It benefits no one to deny them education.
The governor would be better off doing something theatrical similar to the free bus rides to Washington that he’s given some migrants. Draft an oversized novelty invoice that details the millions, perhaps billions, that the federal government owes Texas for the burden of illegal immigration. Take it to the White House or the Capitol. Remind everyone who’s to blame and who’s trying to deal with the fallout.
Laying it at the feet of the Biden administration and Congress is substantively accurate and politically smart. Suggesting that children should suffer the consequences is not.
Editor’s note: A version of this column originally appeared in our conservative opinion newsletter, Right Turns. It’s delivered every Saturday with a fresh take on the news and a roundup of our best center-right opinion content. Sign up here.
This story was originally published May 8, 2022 at 5:02 AM.
