New Texas Gov.. Greg Abbott continued his efforts to woo the state's growing Latino population during his inauguration speech on Tuesday.

The Republican governor made several appeals towards Hispanic Texans by emphasizing his wife's Mexican's heritage and the state's multicultural roots, according to Chron. He also praised Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, who is of Mexican lineage.

"Texas has been the blending of cultures from across the globe even before we became our own nation. My wife represents that as she now has made Texas history as the first Hispanic first lady in the history of our great state," he said, referring to Cecilia Abbott, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. "Cecilia and I share this day with our precious daughter, Audrey. Through your eyes we see the promise of the next generation of Texans."

The new governor also talked about the need to "secure our border" without the mention of taking any action against the wave of undocumented workers and children from the Mexican-Texas border.

Abbott begins his term in office while the state's many conservative elected officials are pushing for anti-immigration bills that would curb unauthorized entries and in-state tutition rates for undocumented students. As a result, experts say Abbott will face challenges as he tries to appease both Latino voters and staunchly conservative members in the GOP, like the Tea Party.

"Greg Abbott is now part of this battle for the soul of the Texas Republican Party," said Jerry Polinard, a political scientist at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, according to The Dallas Morning News. "His 2014 campaign was the most successful in appealing to Latino voters since George W. Bush, but now he must deal with the most conservative lieutenant governor in the history of the state. Dan Patrick has made his name on the immigration issue."

Unlike Abbott, Patrick took a hard line on immigration in his inaugural speech, raising fears about the dangers of immigrants flocking to the state.

"Make no mistake, the terrorists, the drug cartels and gang members' risk of crossing our border and coming here to do us harm is high," he said on Tuesday, reports Fox News Latino.

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