The border policies of Texas Governor Greg Abbott are under fire from thousands of Christians who say that his treatment of migrants is “inhumane.”
Abbott, a Republican, has faced increasing backlash over his treatment of migrants on the Texas-Mexico border. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Abbott last month over controversial “circular saw” buoys placed in the Rio Grande, alleging that Texas immigration policies violate federal law and ignore humanitarian and diplomatic concerns.
The buoys are part of Abbott’s multibillion-dollar “Operation Lone Star.” Other tactics to secure the border include razor-wire fencing, arresting undocumented migrants on trespassing charges and bussing migrants to “Democrat-run” cities out of state. Earlier this month, a 3-year-old boy died on a migrant bus en route from Texas to Chicago, prompting some to call Abbott’s policies “barbaric.”
An online petition shared under the title “Stand Up to Greg Abbott’s Mistreatment of Immigrants” urges Christians to call on Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to reunite families separated under Abbott’s policies.
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The petition, which had eclipsed 10,000 signatures as of Sunday morning, was shared by Faithful America, a group opposed to “Christian nationalism” that describes itself as “the largest online community of Christians putting faith into action for social justice.” The group frequently launches petitions that target right-wing Republicans and associated policies.
Faithful America’s petition notes that Abbott is a Catholic, before accusing the governor of taking “neither Catholic social teaching nor the Gospels’ instructions to welcome the stranger seriously.” The group asks Christians to sign the petition to “expose the hypocrisy of Abbott and other religious-right leaders who aren’t practicing what Jesus preached.”
“As Americans and members of the Christian organization Faithful America who believe in the moral duty to welcome those in need, we call on the Department of Homeland Security to immediately reunite families separated by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s cruel policies, consolidate their removal cases with their families’ cases, and exempt separated families from the asylum transit ban,” the petition states.
“Gov. Abbott is using inhumane and potentially deadly measures to scare asylum seekers away from our nation’s southern border,” it continues. “While we are grateful that the Department of Justice is investigating this harmful initiative, there is much more that the federal government can do to right the wrongs being perpetrated by Gov. Abbott’s administration. We ask you to act now.”
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Newsweek reached out for comment to the Department of Homeland Security and Abbott’s office via email on Friday night.
Abbott also recently faced backlash for sending a bus full of migrants to Los Angeles just as California was bracing for the worst of Tropical Storm Hilary.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday called Abbott “evil” for choosing to “endanger the lives of vulnerable migrants by sending a bus with families and toddlers on board to a city that at the time was under an unprecedented tropical storm warning.”
Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris defended the decision in comments to Newsweek, saying that the bus was “rerouted out of an abundance of caution and took a cautious path to Los Angeles to keep all on board safe.”