Texas: Greg Abbott Gets Brutally Honest on Scary Effects of Title 42 Abolishment

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said there will be "total chaos" at the southern border once Title 42 is lifted, which is expected in a matter of days.

The Republican governor told ABC's "This Week" co-anchor, Martha Raddatz, that the courts must intervene and put a halt to the removal of Title 42. Abbott then explained why keeping Title 42 in place is a public health order and not an official immigration policy.

He noted that whether it is COVID or other issues, people will be crossing the border from several countries without knowing their health status, which is "almost by definition is a public health risk."

However, only some agree with the idea of keeping Title 42 intact. Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement that Texas officials have been fighting to end COVID restrictions but now want a "public health restriction solely when it comes to asylum-seekers."

Gelernt noted that he thinks what officials are trying to do is to "close the border." Most migrants trying to cross the border were from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela due to the Latin American countries' economic decline and political crises.

Abbott has already taken steps to ramp up the state's border security to prepare for the revocation of Title 42.

Title 42 End Date in Texas

Texas continues to build a border wall, deploy gunboats to patrol the Rio Grande, and place razor wire at low-water crossings and high-traffic areas. The state has also installed container blockades to stem the flow of illegal crossings.

Abbott said in a press release that it is imperative that the law enforcement officers in Texas, including Texas National Guard soldiers, should "adopt innovative solutions needed" to combat President Joe Biden's "reckless decision" to rescind the Title 42 policy next week.

Abbott received a briefing from Operation Lone Star agency leaders last week. Texas Military Department Adjutant General Thomas Suelzer, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, and other Operation Lone Star leadership and officials were present at the briefing.

During the briefing, Abbott and law enforcement officials discussed how the state will continue enhancing border security efforts and strategies to address the drastic spike of thousands of illegal crossings per day expected next week following the end of Title 42.

The Operation Lone Star was launched in March 2021 as a response to illegal immigration. There were more than 333,000 migrant apprehensions and more than 22,000 criminal arrests with the effort.

Title 42

Title 42 has been used to expel migrants 2.4 million times since it was imposed. Tens of thousands of migrants kept waiting in Mexico's border cities while their asylum requests were pending.

In April, the Biden administration announced that it planned to put the policy to rest. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan gave the Biden administration until December 21 to end it.

Aside from Texas, Arizona is also clamoring against the nearing end date of Title 42. The state's Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, announced that the state would appeal the decision by the D.C. Circuit.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre did not release any projections on how many migrants are expected to try to gain admission in the U.S. once Title 42 is repealed.

Jean-Pierre said the Homeland Security department is upping the resources to the U.S.-Mexico border, focusing on anti-smuggling operations, and cooperating with other countries to discourage the influx of migrants.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Border States, White House Bracing for Migrant Surge When Title 42 Ends L This Week - From ABC News