On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement outlining the State of Texas’ right to defend its borders in response to a 5-4 ruling from the Supreme Court lifting an injunction by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and allowing Border Patrol agents to resume the destruction of border barriers installed by Texas along the state’s international border with Mexico.
In the statement, Abbott stated that President Biden has “violated his oath to faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress,” “instructed his agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants,” and “enticed illegal immigrants away from the 28 legal entry points” along the Texas-Mexico border by destroying Texas’ border security infrastructure.
Abbott then pointed to the relevant sections of the United States Constitution, namely Article IV, Section 4, and Article I, Section 10, Clause 3, which deal with the federal government’s obligation to secure States against invasion and powers that are normally denied to states without the consent of Congress unless a state is “actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”
In light of the federal government’s refusal to secure the border and undermining of federal immigration law, Governor Abbott goes on to say that these constitutional powers arm the State of Texas with authority that goes beyond federal law, and that the State of Texas will continue to take action to secure the Texas Border using the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have gone on to say that the State of Texas will not admit federal personnel into Shelby Park in Eagle Pass to resume the destruction of border barriers.
Since then, 25 Republican Governors have signed a letter supporting the State of Texas in his stand against the federal government over control of the border. The letter states, “We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border.”
It remains to be seen what further escalations may take place and how long the State of Texas will continue to stand in defiance of the Biden Administration. Several Democratic politicians have encouraged President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard. There are only a few scenarios, however, under which a President may take such an action. Ironically, one of these is an invasion of the United States, a line of argument that the Biden Administration may be hesitant to take up in light of the constitutional powers outlined in Article I, Section 10.
We applaud Governor Abbott’s actions and his acknowledgement of his constitutional authority to act in light of the unprecedented invasion spurred on by Biden Administration policies. All Texans should stand with him and encourage him not to back down. Indeed, Governor Abbott should go even further by returning apprehended illegal aliens directly to Mexico rather than charging them for criminal trespass and then turning them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who under the Biden Administration have only deported a small fraction of the millions of illegal aliens apprehended after crossing our border illegally.
We are furthermore encouraged by the solidarity shown by nearly all Republican governors. Such a move may serve as a template for further collective action by groups of states as mass migration and the invasion at our border continue to transform the political landscape of our nation. We have never seen such a blatant disregard for the integrity of our nation’s borders from a sitting President, but with Open Borders radicalism becoming mainstream within the Democratic Party, it is likely that such scenarios will repeat themselves during future Democratic administrations, and reasonable Governors must stand ready to respond.
What has transpired under this presidency must never be allowed to happen again, and we remain committed to shedding a light on institutions and politicians who shape our nation’s border security and immigration policy, for better and for worse.