Abbott asks Texas AG to investigate NGOs for allegedly aiding illegal migrants

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday asked state Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate non-governmental organizations that may be providing aid to illegal migrants.

"There have been reports that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may have assisted with illegal border crossings near El Paso," Abbott wrote in a Wednesday letter. "We further understand NGOs may be engaged in unlawfully orchestrating other border crossings through activities on both sides of the border, including in sectors other than El Paso."

"In light of these reports, I am calling on the Texas Attorney General's Office to initiate an investigation into the role of NGOs in planning and facilitating the illegal transportation of illegal immigrants across our borders," the governor continued.

The letter comes one day after a mass migrant crossing in El Paso, Texas, by which roughly 1,000 migrants illegally entered the country in a caravan of almost 20 busses.

Texas officials have excoriated the Biden administration for an alleged unwillingness to enforce immigration law at the southern border and have attempted to act independently of Washington to stem the tide of asylum seekers entering the country. Abbott himself formally declared an "invasion" in November and invoked constitutional powers to handle the situation.

"I invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion," he said at the time. "I'm using that constitutional authority, & other authorization & Executive Orders to keep our state & country safe."

In his letter to Paxton the Republican governor lamented that an absence of support from Washington had forced the state to address the crisis on its own, saying "[a]lthough the burden to address the ongoing border crisis should not fall to Texas, the federal government has failed to take action to address this problem."