WASHINGTON, D.C. – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order restricting travel with migrants:

“Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order blocking the transportation of people legally admitted across the border into Texas and directing local law enforcement to stop vehicles who may appear to be transporting migrants is harmful and the entirely wrong approach. This announcement comes with substantial harm to the humanitarian and public safety work done by largely faith-based and nonprofit organizations working to help to keep families seeking asylum safe and to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

These often faith-based organizations are the very groups actively working to test, vaccinate, and when necessary, quarantine families who have been seeking asylum, and this effort will undermine those important public health measures. Families who have been legally permitted to enter the U.S. while their asylum claims are heard by an immigration judge will be denied basic access to medical, social services, and transportation as they await the outcome of their immigration cases. These actions will actively undermine the efforts to have an efficient and safe process for families and children seeking asylum at the border—and this is bad for all Texans.

“This announcement is not a legitimate public health effort—and is particularly stunning given that we have seen the Governor publicly oppose so many actual public health efforts. What this will do, however, is to create chaos and confusion around the border—the very sort of chaotic dysfunction that we know have been used by some to demagogue and further demonize immigrants.

“An immigration system that works best for our nation requires work. So does fighting COVID-19, especially during the resurgence we’re seeing today. Demonizing immigrants and creating more chaos is absolutely the wrong approach.”