VERIFY: Texas governor debate fact-check | Abbott vs. O’Rourke

EDINBURG, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott and his challenger in November, Beto O’Rourke, confronted off in a debate within the Rio Grande Valley Friday night time. During the forwards and backwards, there have been claims that we got down to confirm.

Border safety was a serious subject on the debate stage Friday night time. Governor Abbott attacked challenger Beto O’Rourke early.

“Beto needs to proceed open border insurance policies,” stated Abbott.

Our supply to confirm is Beto O’Rourke’s personal marketing campaign web site. O’Rourke has a plan that features investing “in border enforcement that actually works.” He additionally helps extra authorized pathways to citizenship and a visitor employee program. So we will confirm Abbott’s declare is fake. O’Rourke doesn’t assist open borders.

O’Rourke accused the governor of coverage failures on the border together with Operation Lonestar.

“Four billion {dollars} into Lonestar, we’re seeing extra encounters not fewer,” O’Rourke stated.

Our sources right here: The governor’s workplace and Customs and Border Protection.

Per the governor, he is invested $4 billion {dollars} in Operation Lonestar.  And CBP confirms border crossings are larger this 12 months than in earlier years courting again to 2019.

So we will confirm O’Rourke’s declare is true.

Abbott additionally claimed there was a “record amount of fentanyl coming across our border.”

Our supply on this one is Customs and Border Protection information. CBP reviews seizing greater than 12,900 kilos of fentanyl this fiscal 12 months.  That is a brand new file, in comparison with simply 2,800 kilos in 2019.

We can confirm that’s true. How many individuals it may kill isn’t verifiable.

O’Rourke pushed the governor on taking motion after the Uvalde taking pictures. That’s when Abbott made this declare.

“You cannot raise the age to buy an assault rifle because it’s not constitutional,” he stated. 

This we will confirm is fake. A federal appeals courtroom in Texas dominated that the State of Texas can’t ban adults below 21 from carrying handguns, not AR-15s. And the Supreme Court has but to weigh in on the problem.

O’Rourke attacked the governor on the problem of rape.

“FBI data shows Texas does have more rapes than any other state in the U.S.,” he stated.  

But once you modify for inhabitants, Texas ranks fifteenth within the nation. So O’Rourke’s declare is true however wants essential context.

Finally, Abbott claimed O’Rourke is for defunding the police. 

This we will confirm is fake, however wants context. Yes, O’Rourke alluded to redirecting police funding in a 2020 podcast however didn’t particularly name for defunding the police. O’Rourke’s web site requires guaranteeing legislation enforcement businesses have all the pieces they should convey justice to victims.

During the debate, our workforce was verifying claims made by the candidates.

O’Rourke’s marketing campaign web site features a plan for immigration that features investing, “in border enforcement that actually works. That means more smart technology like sensors, surveillance towers, and drones that can detect crossings between ports of entry and help enforcement authorities carry out arrests.”

He does assist extra authorized pathways to citizenship and a brand new visitor employee program together with further processing capability to “more efficiently screen migrants for asylum eligibility, run criminal background checks, and quickly deport anyone who is here illegally or who poses a threat to our country.”

Source: O’Rourke marketing campaign web site: https://betoorourke.com/issue/border-immigration

Governor Abbott has taken action to secure the border. Those actions included securing $4 billion in funding for Texas’ border safety efforts. Border crossings have been higher this year than previous years courting again to 2019. However, crossings have dropped beneath final 12 months’s numbers this June – current. 

This declare wants context. A 2022 report from Mental Health America ranks Texas as final within the nation for entry to psychological well being care – however there are limitations to the report, prefer it’s primarily based on 2019 information. Additionally, different sources rank Texas larger in areas associated to psychological well being care entry.

The Household Pulse Survey, a survey carried out this 12 months by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and U.S. Census Bureau, exhibits that Texas ranked No. 15 out of U.S. states for individuals who wanted counseling or remedy however didn’t get it within the final month.

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) additionally revealed an evaluation of 2019-2020 information and located that Texas ranked among the many prime 10 states with the bottom share of adults who reported an unmet want for psychological well being therapy at No. 7.

A permitless carry legislation signed by Abbott final 12 months does enable folks over 21 to hold firearms in public locations that don’t prohibit weapons.

That legislation, HB 1927, doesn’t require coaching or a allow. However, folks nonetheless have to move a federal background verify to purchase firearms from shops and all different federally-licensed firearm sellers. Background checks are usually not required for personal sellers.

It is true that the newest and full FBI information from 2020 exhibits Texas has extra rapes than some other state with 13,509 in 2020.

However, Texas is the 2nd most populous state. If you modify for inhabitants, Texas ranks fifteenth with 46 rapes for each 100,000 residents. No. 1 is Alaska with a charge of 155 per 100,000 residents.

Sources FBI Crime Data Explorer

The phrase “defund” is imprecise. It’s true that Austin lower $140 million from its police division’s funds in 2020, about 1/3.  

Austin noticed 73 murders in 2021. That’s the best quantity obtainable. Austin crime information solely dates again to 2003. However, 2020 noticed 42 murders, which was additionally larger than traditional.