Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is touting a right to “self-defense” from a migrant “invasion” at the southern border, as the state fights a multi-pronged battle with the Biden administration.
“The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States,” a lengthy statement by the Texas Republican says. “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 is currently fighting multiple legal battles with the administration. The federal government has threatened legal action over Texas’ seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass, while lawsuits are ongoing over the administration’s cutting of razor wire set up by Texas and the establishment of buoys in the Rio Grande.
The Supreme Court this week found in the administration’s favor when it granted an emergency appeal to allow agents to keep cutting border wire set up by Texas along the border. Texas this week published images of it strengthening physical barriers along Eagle Pass.
The administration has also sued over a recently signed law that allows Texas state and local officials to arrest illegal immigrants. The administration has accused Texas of interfering with federal control over immigration and border security, and has said it is putting agents and migrants in danger.
Abbott, however, cited constitutional language that demands the federal government “protect each [State] against invasion” and the right of states to protect their own borders.
Abbott argues that “the failure of the Biden administration” to fulfill those duties triggers a clause in Article 1 that “reserves to this State the right of self-defense.” He notes he has already declared an “invasion” to invoke the authority, which he calls “the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.”
The arguments from Abbott are unlikely to dissuade the administration, which has cited Supreme Court precedent for federal control over immigration and border authority.
The administration has also claimed it is following immigration law, and has pointed to numbers of removals since May that outpaced the entirety of FY 2019. Instead, it says it needs more funding from Congress and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a “broken” system.
“Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol’s job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass, Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border,” a recent White House statement said.
“The President has been clear that we need adequate resources and policy changes, and that our immigration system is broken. That is why on his first day in office he presented Congress with a comprehensive immigration reform plan, and that is why he is working to find a bipartisan agreement with Congress that includes funding and meaningful reforms,” it added.
