HELENA — Gov. Greg Gianforte joined a group of 11 GOP governors on the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday, to decry what his office called “President Biden’s ongoing crisis at the southern border.”
The Republican governors, led by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, held a news conference in Mission, Texas, near the border, to call for action by the Biden administration to stem what they said is a wave of migrants, illegal drugs and human trafficking.
“Our nation’s Southern border remains porous and insecure, with drug cartels and human traffickers taking full advantage of the situation,” a Gianforte spokesman told MTN News. “As Montana communities grapple with the devastation of illegal drug use and addiction, drug seizures at the Southern border have skyrocketed.”
Gianforte, Montana’s first Republican governor in 16 years, flew to Texas Tuesday on his own private aircraft and won’t be charging the state for the cost, his office said.
He is returning to Montana Wednesday. The Republican Governors Public Policy Committee organized the trip and paid for the lodging, Gianforte’s office said.
Among other things, the GOP governors said the Biden administration should finish securing the border, including building a border wall; require asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while they wait for court hearings; and enforce Title 42 health restrictions, which the Biden administration used recently to expel 5,000 Haitian refugees.
Republican governors, including Gianforte, have asked to meet with Biden to discuss border security.
