Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, speaking just a few blocks away from the Dallas Convention Center where hundreds of migrant teen boys are expected to be housed following a surge in border crossings, asked President Biden to allow Texas Department of Public Safety troopers access to interview minors in the Midland, Carrizo Springs and Dallas facilities.

DPS Director Steven McCraw said some minors might have been exploited, sexually abused, threatened or used to transport drugs.

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“They've been threatened by the cartels,” McCraw said. “When the cartel says, ‘If you talk, we're going to kill your family,’ they actually mean that."

But Steve Romero, a criminal justice lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, said the governor and DPS’ plans are far-fetched.

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“Questioning a minor is not always the best evidence because what they see and what they saw and how they interpreted it could be convoluted,” Romero said.

Abbott also said that the Texas Department of Health and Human services will be testing migrant children for COVID-19 before entering the Dallas Convention Center.