Fox News anchor Chris Wallace clashed with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday, noting that while the Republican governor has been outspoken about the abuses of migrant children during the Biden administration, he was in silence on the issue during President Donald Trump’s tenure.
With conservatives describing the recent wave of unaccompanied minors on the southern border as a disaster and an unmitigated crisis, Abbott was quick to hold a press conference last week after state officials received some advice that migrant children were sexually abused in a temporary shelter in San Antonio.
“These problems are a byproduct of President Biden’s open border policies and the lack of planning for the consequences of these disastrous policies,” Abbott told reporters outside the facility, adding: “The children at this facility are being sexually assaulted. “
“In short, this installation is a nightmare of safety and health. Now the Biden administration is presiding over child abuse, ”the governor concluded. “To end this abuse, the Biden administration must close this facility immediately.”
During his interview with Abbott a Fox News SundayHowever, Wallace exposed the fact that Trump’s driving Republican remained silent only a couple of years earlier when it was revealed that more than a thousand migrant children reported sexual abuse and harassment while in federal custody.
“You made headlines this week reporting that there are cases of sexual abuse at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, which now houses more than 1,600 children,” the Fox News moderator said. “But the head of a non-profit organization that provides legal services to immigrants said this: ‘The only reason Abbott is now acting as if he cares about the children in these facilities is for political reasons.’ . “
Wallace continued: “Governor, there were thousands of allegations of sexual abuse at migrant shelters during the Trump years. Not to mention that what is happening now is right, but we have not found any case to complain and the I would shout when President Trump was president. ”
Meanwhile, Abbott dodged Wallace’s question, saying there were “multiple differences between what happened to the Trump administration” and the current White House.
After insisting that the Trump administration had maintained “constant communication” with him about any issues with detained migrants and that those allegations of abuse were “filed with federal agencies,” the governor dismissed criticism. about his previous silence.
“But don’t get caught up in Democrats and others who say, ‘Well, Abbott hasn’t complained about that in the past,'” he concluded. “What they have to focus on is exactly what I called the ‘attention last month in Dallas, Texas, where I pointed out then that there would be cases of child sexual abuse. “