Abbott calls out blue cities' hypocrisy on migrants: 'They're for illegal immigration as long as it's Texas'

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott tore into Democratic city and state leaders struggling to accommodate migrants from the southern border, calling out the hypocrisy of sanctuary cities.

"Something has been revealed during this entire episode, and that is the very real hostility that Democrats have against illegal immigrants," Abbott told "America's Newsroom" Thursday. 

"They profess to be sanctuary cities and sanctuary states. They want to welcome them in until they actually do come in. And then when they come in, they say, no, no, no, no, no, we don't want them here, we want to send them back to Texas. They're for illegal immigration as long as it's Texas and the border states that have to deal with that illegal immigration."

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On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called Abbott's migrant busing policy "a remarkable failure of governance" and refusal to cooperate with officials in Democrat-led cities overwhelmed by migrant arrivals.  

Abbott began busing migrants to New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions last year in protest of the Biden administration's border policies. Abbott’s office has said it has sent around 27,000 migrants to New York City since then and has done so to relieve pressure on besieged border communities.

The governor said Thursday it was "outrageous" that New York cannot handle the influx of immigration.

"We have more people coming across our border every single day than what New York gets in a week or a month," he said. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks while standing with Republican members of Congress, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Johnson is leading about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit to the Mexican border. Joining Speaker Johnson in front row are, from left, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Abbott continued to put blame for the border crisis directly on President Biden and his elimination of Trump-era policies that "led to the lowest illegal border crossings in 40 years."

"The Remain in Mexico policy, the Title 42 policy, the end of catch and release and building a border wall. If the Biden administration was enforcing the immigration laws passed by Congress, the mayors of New York, the leaders of New Jersey and Chicago, etc., they would not be having these problems," he said.

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Abbott expressed hope that Republicans in Congress can get impactful immigration reform across the finish line.

"Americans have grown incredibly frustrated and angry against the leadership in Washington, D.C.," he said.

"Republicans have the Democrats in Washington, D.C., in a very tough place. As long as the Republicans stick together, there is a chance of getting meaningful immigration reform legislation passed that will stop all the illegal immigration coming across the border."

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.