Despite a cease-and-desist order from President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security, Texas Governor Greg Abbott remains committed to securing a portion of the state’s border with Mexico. This area has been frequently used by migrants to illegally enter the country. Governor Abbott has taken decisive action by deploying the Texas National Guard and state law enforcement personnel to occupy a park near Eagle Pass. They have set up razor-wire barricades to prevent illegal entry, a move that has drawn criticism from DHS. The department has demanded that Abbott allow U.S. Border Patrol agents access to the park in order to dismantle the wire barriers, but the governor has stood firm in his refusal.
In a show of solidarity, numerous governors from across the country are now offering Governor Abbott words of encouragement and material support. This includes the deployment of Guard troops, law enforcement officers, and other resources to protect and defend the state. Additionally, some members of Congress are aligning themselves with Governor Abbott’s stance on border security.
“We need to let Governor Abbott do his job, which is to put up the razor wire – I stand with Texas. We’ve got to secure this border,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) said.
“Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, they are standing with the Mexican drug cartels,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said last week. “They are standing with the invasion that is targeting our state. We have seen 9.6 million illegal immigrants enter this country since Joe Biden became president…and this is deliberate.”
“This is an invasion by people. We don’t know who they are or the dangers they may pose,” Abbott has said.
During a two-week conflict between the state and federal governments regarding the control of a 2.5-mile area in Texas, Governor Abbott expressed his defiance on Wednesday afternoon by openly opposing the directives of the Biden administration to halt any action.
In a public letter, Abbott firmly stated that Texas holds a “constitutional right to self-defense,” highlighting the failure of the White House to fulfill its duty, as outlined in the nation’s founding document, to safeguard all 50 states and territories by not implementing measures to manage the influx of unauthorized immigrants over the past three years, as reported by the Washington Examiner.
“The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting states, including immigration laws on the books right now. President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them,” Abbott wrote.
My statement on Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense. pic.twitter.com/seNFZdmujP
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 24, 2024
“The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I,§ 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense,” Abbott continued. “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.”
“That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,” Abbott said. “The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border.”
