Greg Abbott claims Joe Biden 'abandoned' border, defends Lone Star | USA TODAY

"The primary reason is because Joe Biden is not doing his job." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says 25 governors are "banding together" to secure the border.

Thousands of migrants have boarded state-funded charter buses to Democratic-led cities and critics have called the initiative a political ploy that uses migrants as pawns at a cost to state taxpayers of more than $12 million.

On Aug. 11, authorities announced that a 3-year-old child who was riding a migrant bus from Texas to Chicago died in Illinois. The child's death is the first Texas has announced since the start of Operation Lone Star.

The governor has brought on new measures to the initiative, such as placing massive water buoys and miles of razor wire along the Rio Grande, which forms the border between Texas and Mexico. Last month, two bodies were recovered from the river and one was found near the buoys.