# Screw Greg Abbott {Texas Governor} **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 2, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141 "2021-03-02T21:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/722 "2023-08-13T13:07:15Z")
Regardless of the victim’s age, I think it could be argued to fall under “involuntary manslaughter” in the US Code. [[18 U.S. Code § 1112 - Manslaughter | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1112)] You would have to establish criminal negligence or recklessness to get any traction, as I understand it. That requires a finding that he knew, or should have known, that transporting the victim under the conditions he imposed had a high risk of causing death. Or, we could call it what it is–kidnapping, his ass-covering blather about it being “voluntary” notwithstanding. Then we turn to the section of the code on murder. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/723 "2023-08-16T16:02:41Z")
> [@CastletonSnob1](#): > > Why isn’t the DOJ launching an investigation against Abbott for the 2 people who died because of his buoys? Jurisdiction, I would expect. The administration of international borders is a Federal matter, which is why the DoJ is suing to force Texas to remove the barrier. But criminal matters in the waters of a border river are the jurisdiction of the State which “owns” that half of the river. Border waters are not federal property, which is the primary way the federal government would assert jurisdiction. So Texas would have the obligation to carry out such an investigation. We can predict how that would go. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, so this is just my layman’s understanding of this topic.) OTOH, it turns out that most of the barrier is actually in Mexican territorial waters. [https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/texas/state-bureau/2023/08/15/abbotts-buoys-were-placed-mostly-in-mexican-territory-agency-says/70594858007/](https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/texas/state-bureau/2023/08/15/abbotts-buoys-were-placed-mostly-in-mexican-territory-agency-says/70594858007/) So maybe those deaths occured in Mexican jurisdiction, so a law enforcement agency in Mexico could carry out the necessary investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/724 "2023-08-17T23:08:56Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > So maybe those deaths occured in Mexican jurisdiction, so a law enforcement agency in Mexico could carry out the necessary investigation. And then file for extradition of those who designed, built, and maintained that monstrosity. Hopefully, they’ll also include Abbott in the filing. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/725 "2023-08-18T15:57:03Z")
Even at that, something doesn’t quite add up. 3 year olds don’t generally go around dying on vehicular trips, unless they’re some combination of neglected, in poor health, or abused in some way. None of which are a result of being on that bus. I feel like in an alternate universe we’d be reading “3 year old immigrant dies in Texas custody” instead of the headlines we got. I’m not so sure the busing really had much to do with it. Not saying it was right or good, but that there is probably more to the story than the headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/726 "2023-08-18T20:31:46Z")
The most likely explanation is the same thing that happened on all the other buses - there were limited stops and only for fuel, little or no food and few or no opportunities to get food, etc. I’m not shocked a 3 year old died on one of these buses. I’m more surprised it had not yet happened. Those drivers don’t stop for anything but gassing up. This is an article from **last year** and the experience is pretty much normal > **[What’s Driving Greg Abbott’s Escalating Migrant Busing Scheme?](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/greg-abbott-escalating-migrant-buses-desantis/)** > > The Texas governor’s plan has been adopted by Ron DeSantis in Florida, and it has grown crueler as it spreads.   > [@](#): > > As the competition to get the most headlines set in, the stunts got weirder and meaner. On September 1, Evarist Meléndez, who fled the dictatorship in Venezuela to seek asylum in the United States, [told the Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-governor-greg-abbotts-bus-sideshow-sends-venezuelan-man-bound-for-virginia-to-new-york-city) that he boarded one of Abbott’s buses to New York because he was told it would stop regularly along the way—and because he desperately needed to get to Richmond, Virginia, where his cousins were waiting to help him. The bus only stopped at gas stations, however, because it needed to drop a load of people in New York City for waiting cameras. (Some migrants do disembark at gas stations, but others told the _New York Post_ that a driver tried to prevent them [from getting off](https://nypost.com/2022/08/13/migrants-on-texas-to-nyc-bus-threaten-to-call-cops-on-driver/).) Meléndez said he was told he could get from New York to Virginia for $17. At the end of the journey, he had not eaten in a day and had no money, no contacts, and no clue how to get to his family. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/727 "2023-08-19T21:27:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Even at that, something doesn’t quite add up. 3 year olds don’t generally go around dying on vehicular trips, unless they’re some combination of neglected, in poor health, or abused in some way. > > None of which are a result of being on that bus. I feel like in an alternate universe we’d be reading “3 year old immigrant dies in Texas custody” instead of the headlines we got. I’m not so sure the busing really had much to do with it. > > Not saying it was right or good, but that there is probably more to the story than the headlines. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. There was almost certainly some sort of medical emergency, but how those in charge reacted mught easily have been the difference between life and death. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/728 "2023-08-20T00:32:58Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > There was almost certainly some sort of medical emergency, but how those in charge reacted mught easily have been the difference between life and death. Yeah, and putting someone on a long distance bus trip is a great way to ensure there’s medical help within a reasonable response distance and time, right? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/729 "2023-08-22T21:37:52Z")
[Not to mention sending a bus full of people to a city that’s about to be hit with a massive storm.](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/mayor-karen-bass-rips-texas-gov-greg-abbott-busing-migrants-l-tropical-rcna101244) Now as the article says, the drivers may have different routes they can take to avoid the weather. But putting an additional strain on the city is just spiteful. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/730 "2023-08-22T22:27:29Z")
Why don’t they arrest the drivers for human trafficking? Confiscate the buses. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/731 "2023-08-22T22:29:54Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Why don’t they arrest the drivers for human trafficking? Because that’s not what’s happening. Trafficking isn’t just moving someone somewhere under false pretenses. It also involves forced labor or another kind of exploitation. If after the buses delivered them, they were told they now owe money for the transport service and force them to work it off, **then** that’s trafficking. If they are just dumped there and left to fend for themselves (which is what I expect is happening) then that doesn’t apply. Trafficking is really just another word for modern day slavery. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/732 "2023-08-22T22:46:08Z")
OK, then, kidnapping. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/733 "2023-08-22T22:52:55Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > another kind of exploitation. They’re being politically exploited. But yeah, there has to be some crime in forcibly moving people across the country and abandoning them. There’s no legal reason to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/734 "2023-08-22T22:56:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > They’re being politically exploited. That’s not what that means. 🙂 > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But yeah, there has to be some crime in forcibly moving people across the country and abandoning them. There’s no legal reason to do so. Oh I agree absolutely. If nothing else, transporting someone under false pretenses and leaving them stranded is a form of fraud. I don’t think it counts as kidnapping unless you physically force them to go; as in, they get on the bus and then say they want off and you lock the doors or have goons stopping them from leaving, or even force them onto the bus at gunpoint. But no, it definitely does not sound legal and there should absolutely be legal ramifications for these stunts. You are playing with lives and causing a lot of disruption just to make a political point. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/735 "2023-08-23T09:12:51Z")
Is it fraud? I really hope it’s fraud. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/736 "2023-08-25T23:20:10Z")
Nice frying pan you got there Abbott. > **[Texas Cancels School Over Concerns Extreme Heat Not Safe Environment For...](https://www.theonion.com/texas-cancels-school-over-concerns-extreme-heat-not-saf-1850775039)** > > PLANO, TX—Citing faulty HVAC systems and temperatures over 100 degrees, Plano Independent School District in North Texas canceled classes Friday over concerns that the extreme heat made its campuses unsafe for mass shootings. “We take the well-being... ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/737 "2023-08-25T23:36:13Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Nice frying pan you got there Abbott. You did realize this is _The Onion_, right? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/738 "2023-08-25T23:44:22Z")
Yes, America’s Finest News Source. I post a lot of these. It’s actually hard for their writers to come up with enough absurd ideas to keep ahead of the Republicants. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/739 "2023-08-26T03:15:11Z")
What’s even better is that Plano West High School _did_ shut today because of AC issues. I predict there will be a bunch of fuddled folks who think this is a true article as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/740 "2023-08-28T18:54:11Z")
I thought it was real until I read “mass shootings.” I snorted and looked for the source in the upper left corner. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141/741 "2023-08-28T20:25:35Z")
Speaking of shootings, a Texas National Guardsman deployed to the border by Abbott shot across the border and injured a Mexican national who was just working out on Mexican soil. Abbott’s going to end up get us into an armed conflict. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his goal. > **[Texas National Guard member fires across Rio Grande, wounds Mexican citizen](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/28/texas-national-guard-shoots-mexican-citizen-border/)** > > The Texas Military Department isn’t identifying the Guard member or providing details about the Saturday shooting. The man who was shot in the leg said he was working out near the river. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-greg-abbott-texas-governor/934141.md?page=38)