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Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and former Democratic Congressman Beto ORourke faced off Friday, September 30 for a one hour televised debate in the Rio Grande Valleythe epicenter of Americas illegal immigration crisis under President Joe Biden.

It was no surprise that illegal immigration was the debates foremost topic. And the way the issue played out on the debate stage bodes ill for Democrats nationally.

Gov. Abbott touted his record in using state assetsboth the National Guard and state police in a combined effort known as Operation Lone Starto deal with the record numbers of people breaking U.S. immigration law by coming north, as well as the increasing flow of deadly drugs, such as fentanyl.

TEXAS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE BETO O'ROURKE DODGES TWICE WHEN ASKED IF HE WOULD 'TAKE YOUR AR-15'

ORourke countered with the risible claim that the border chaos is Abbotts fault (though $4 billion in Texas taxpayer dollars has been spent under Abbott, the flow of illegal aliens keeps increasing). ORourke was harshly critical of Abbotts initiative to bus illegal immigrants to large self-proclaimed sanctuary cities across the nation such as New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Texas Democrat gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a primary election gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Instead, ORourke said that people should be able to come to America to work, as well as to seek asylum. He even suggested that Texas have its own guest worker program.

In short, ORourke voiced an open border policy that the Biden administration has put into practice, while not actually admitting to the policy. ORourke even said that the chaos on the border wasnt Bidens faultit was Abbotts fault.

Abbott responded that ORourke was suggesting federal policy changesthings he might have voted on had he won the U.S. Senate race in 2018. Instead, Abbott maintained, it was the primary duty of a governor to do all he can to safeguard state residents against crime and illegal drugs caused by an open border while alleviating the strain on local communities by busing would-be migrants to larger cities better equipped to handle large numbers of people. Abbott also noted that Operation Lone Star had ceased enough fentanyl to kill millions of Texans.

TEXAS SHOWDOWN: GOP GOV. GREG ABBOTT AND DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER BETO OROURKE FACE-OFF FRIDAY NIGHT

Nationally, drug overdoses killed a record number of people last year107,000of whom the majority were killed by fentanyl poisoning. More people were killed last year by drugs than have died in all of Americas wars and military actions since World War II.

As ORourke was taking heat on an issue that polls clearly show is a weak spot for him, he countered by claiming that Abbotts hateful words on immigration will get people killed. He further claimed that Abbotts busing of illegal immigrants to Democratic-led sanctuary cities was the "kind of stunt we expect from Abbott."

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Abbott responded by noting that El Paso, with a Democratic mayor and city council (ORourke was once a city councilman there) has sent more buses of migrants to other cities than has the state of Texas under Abbott.

The remainder of the debate focused on gun control and school safety (about 10 minutes), abortion (five minutes), defund the police and rising crime (four minutes), the power grid (five minutes), and closed on education and property taxes.

That the debate was dominated by the illegal immigration crisis unleashed by Pres. Bidens sudden reversal of former President Donald Trumps policies doesnt bode well for Democrats nationally.

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ORourkes attempts to blame Abbott for Bidens immigration mess fell flat. Further, ORourke and the Democrats support open borderseven as they refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their policies.

Voters are likely to render a harsh verdict on Bidens unsecured border this November.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM CHUCK DeVORE

Chuck DeVore is a vice president with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, was elected to the California legislature, is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, and the author of the new book, "Crisis of the House Never United."

Read more from the original source:
Why Democrats' illegal immigration views will haunt them in November - Fox News