8: The Executive Branch and the Governor in Texas
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After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
- Explain the structure of the governor’s office.
- Assess the roles, responsibilities, and powers of the governor.
- Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the plural executive in the Texas government.
- Describe the various actors who make up the executive branch.
Mo’ Minors, Mo’ Problems: Governor Abbott, concerned for the safety of unaccompanied minors entering Texas, tweet blasts President Joe Biden over conditions at the facilities housing these unaccompanied minors. (Figure 8.1). Although immigration law is primarily federal, deciding how to handle this type of surge can often also fall on the governor to address.
Texas is struggling to find a place for the vast numbers of unaccompanied minors that are crossing the Texas border (Figure 8.2). “These sites are a direct result of President Biden's reckless open border policies that are causing a surge in border crossings and cartel activity,” Abbott said on March 17, 2021, adding that 11,000 minors have been apprehended crossing the Texas-Mexico border this year alone and that border crossings are at its highest level in two years.”1 Children from many Latin American countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras have long crossed the border through Mexico to the reach United States; however, the number of children making the perilous journey alone has recently increased. From concern that some of the children might have the COVID 19 virus, overcrowded facilities, and now the concern that the water in some places is contaminated, it is clear that this a complex policy issue that will likely be moving to the top of Governor Abbott’s agenda.
1. “Abbott: 11K Kids Crossed TX Border This Year; Wants Feds to Let State Interview Them,” NBCDFW, upd. March 17, 2021, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ab...sylum/2581198/.