Jeff Mateer, first assistant attorney general in Texas, told Breitbart News that illegal aliens committed “over 32,000 assaults [and] 28,000 drug offenses” in the Lone Star state over the past eight years. He joined this week’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Sunday for an interview with host Amanda House.

“Illegal aliens continue to cross the border,” said Mateer.” In the last eight years, 190,000 booked into Texas jails, over 32,000 assaults, 28,000 drug offenses. In Texas, we’re bearing the brunt — our state is bearing the brunt — of these illegal aliens who are crossing the border illegally and committing crimes.”

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Mateer added, “It’s drawing on our resources at the state level. It’s drawing on resources at the federal level. We’ve got a serious problem, and someone needs to act. Fortunately, this president recognizes this serious problem and is willing to act.”

Mateer speculated on the future of President Donald Trump’s consideration of closing parts of the U.S.-Mexico border to halt record numbers of migrants entering the country. “I think eventually, it’s going to go to the United States Supreme Court,” he predicted. “If the president follows through this week or in the weeks to come on his threat to shut down the border, then my prediction is you will see liberal interest groups and perhaps state attorneys general in Democrat states challenging the president’s action, and it will eventually — hopefully, in short and due course — end its way at the Supreme Court.”

“Again, I think the Constitution has vested the president with a lot of power to deal with national emergencies,” said Mateer. “The Congress in 1976 passed the National Emergencies Act. It gave the president specific powers to declare a national emergency. He has done that. He has the power to act, and like so many of our problems today, I think this is headed to the court and headed to the Supreme Court.”

“If Congress is not going to act, then the president is going to have to act,” stated Mateer.

Breitbart News Sunday airs Sunday on SiriusXM’s Patriot channel 125 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pacific).

Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter @rkraychik.