GOP candidate Doug Burgum says Biden's to blame for controversial Texas border barriers

BOONE, Iowa — President Joe Biden's inability to secure the nation's southern border is to blame for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's controversial use of buoys and razor wire to stop migrants from entering the country, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Saturday while campaigning for the Iowa caucuses.

“I support what Gov. Abbott is trying to do. But Gov. Abbott shouldn't have to do this. This is a federal responsibility. And it's been completely abdicated by the Biden administration,” said Burgum, one of the Republican presidential candidates crisscrossing Iowa this weekend.

“This is on Biden administration, not on Gov. Abbott,” Burgum told reporters after speaking to about 30 people at a Boone cafe Saturday.

The Biden Justice Department this week sued Abbott over the state’s floating barrier, saying it’s illegal and raises humanitarian, navigation and public safety issues, resulting in adults and children being severely cut during river crossings.

The battle over the Texas barrier comes as Customs and Border Protection says migrant encounters were down 30% in June, the first full month since new Biden administration immigration restrictions went into effect, the Associated Press reported.

As the leader of a "big border state," Burgum said he's "got a lot of empathy for what he's (Abbott) going through."

"If millions of people were piling into North Dakota from Canada, we’d be doing everything we can. But we’d be doing the job that belongs to the federal government,” he said.

When asked if he would use tactics like razor wire to protect North Dakota, Burgum said “this is what we end up with” without a secure border.

“Nobody wants to see a child that gets cut on razor wire, but why are people not entering (legally) through ports of entry,” said Burgum, who added that he would support changes to the U.S. immigration system to allow more migrants to enter the country legally.

“We can have a discussion about legal immigration across all skill levels,” he said. “We can do that like other smart countries. Because we have a place that people want to get into," said Burgum, adding that "Canada is poaching” highly skilled, foreign-born residents in the U.S. whose visas are expiring.

“They’re advertising to get those people to move to Canada,” Burgum said. “They added like one million highly skilled people last year.

“When we have 11 million jobs open in America, we’re hurting our economy, our long-term competitiveness by not being smart about how we’re going to do this,” said Burgum, who is campaigning on improving the nation’s economy, energy independence and national security.

“But we can’t have a conversation in this country about immigration policy without … secure borders,” said Burgum, who was introduced by his wife, Kathryn.

Burgum said he agreed with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' stand to not endorse a Republican candidate in Iowa's first-in-the-nation GOP caucus. Reynolds become a target of former President Donald Trump, who criticized her for failing to give him a nod, saying she wouldn’t be governor without his endorsement.

“That’s the smart thing to do. That’s the right thing for Iowa,” Burgum said. “It’s her job to do the right thing for Iowa. … Go Iowa. Go Kim.”

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Doug Burgum says Texas' razor wire, buoy barrier 'is on' Biden