New Mexico Republicans, Democrats at odds over Texas’s efforts to razor-wire TX-NM border

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – With reports that Texas has been placing razor wire along the Texas-New Mexico border in an effort to stop unauthorized immigrants, New Mexico politicians from both sides are taking the opportunity to bash the opposing party.

Last week, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted a news article about efforts to place razor wire along a portion of the Texas-New Mexico border. “Migrants are entering New Mexico illegally then crossing into Texas,” Abbott claims without sharing evidence in the tweet. “We are stopping it.”

In response, the Democratic Party of New Mexico put out a statement co-authored by the Texas Democratic Party. The statement claims the razor wire is a waste of tax dollars, will harm the environment, and may injure vulnerable migrants. They also blame Republicans for avoiding “the real issues.”

“Republicans everywhere think that harmful border stunts will serve as a distraction from the real issues facing working families in our country,” the statement says in part.

The Republican Party of New Mexico fired back with a press release in which Chairman Steve Pearce says Governor Abbott is taking border security “seriously.” Pearce also took the opportunity to attack Democrats.

“When will progressives realize their careless policies are frighteningly dangerous?” Pearce said in the statement.

Pearce points to fentanyl deaths in the U.S. and so-called “gotaways,” the people that are believed to have crossed the border without authorization but have not been apprehended.

Pearce cites numbers similar to a June 2023 House Homeland Security Committee factsheet that claims there have been more than 1.5 million gotaways under the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan addressed that number in a press briefing by saying the administration is seeking additional resources.

KRQE News 13 reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ask if there are statistics on the number of unauthorized immigrants that enter Texas via New Mexico. As of publication, they have not been able to provide that data.