Texas in the News Weekly Quiz March 22, 2021

Weekly Quiz 10: Monday, March 22, 2021

Border Politics

The politics of border security has been a hot topic for more than decade since Governor Rick Perry requested state funds and mobilized the National Guard to help federal border security agents police the border. As we learned in Chapter 3, the federal government is responsible for border security, but the politics of the border have led some state politicians to devote funds to border security. Controversies continued through the 2014 election when Governor Greg Abbott pledged to increase spending and “get tough” on the border, charging the Democratic-led federal government with inaction. Opponents argue that Republicans are unfairly demonizing the border and the funds spent on border security would be better spent helping border communities.

Record-setting increases in March of migrant families at the southern border has again emerged as a national crisis. The Biden White House has deployed emergency resources to care for the record number of teenagers and children arriving at the border without their parents. The Biden administration reversed the enforcement-focused policies of the Trump administration, focusing on changing to a “humane and efficient system,” but the number of migrants has continued to escalate. As a result, Republicans like Governor Abbott have called out the federal government for downplaying or ignoring the issue—he ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to the border.

Read over the following articles that describe the most recent political and policy dustup on Texas’ southern border:


. How many total migrants are being detained at the border in March of 2020?

. How many National Guard troops did Governor Abbott send to the border?

. From October 2020 to January 2021, more than _______ undocumented immigrants were apprehended, more than half of the _______ apprehended during the entire federal fiscal year of 2020.

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