South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem recently appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” where she expressed support for Gov. Greg Abbott and his defiance of the Biden administration’s efforts to thwart Texas border security initiatives.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration, permitting federal agents to remove razor wire put in place by the state of Texas. However, recent reports indicate that Texas has “no plans” to remove the border barriers and has even refused to allow federal agents to enter Shelby Park, near the Eagle Pass border.
In light of Texas’ undeterred efforts to secure its southern border with Mexico, roughly 25 other states have signified their support of the Lone Star state’s right to defend its border. CNN anchor Dana Bash questioned Gov. Noem, who voiced support for Abbott’s defiance, if it is justified for Texas not to comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
“You and two dozen other Republican governors wrote a letter expressing solidarity with Texas urging the state to use every tool and strategy, including razor wire fence, to secure the border. A lot of people interpreted that to mean you think Texas should defy the Supreme Court and stop federal agents from removing the razor wire. Do you think Texas should do that? Should they defy the Supreme Court?” Bash asked Noem.
The Republican governor explained her stance on the issue, noting that Texas should continue enforcing state laws and exercise its constitutional right to protect its sovereignty. Noem indicated that she and the two dozen other governors who pledged their support toward Texas are concerned that the federal government is interfering with autonomy and rights at the state level.
“Texas should stand their ground. They should enforce their state law and go back to the constitutional rights that they have been granted to protect their state’s sovereignty. That’s what so many of as governors are offended by. Democrats were threatening to encourage the president to activate our guards in order to get them to stand down and not protect our states. It’s a dangerous situation. It’s a war zone at our southern border. I’m proud of what Texas has done, proud to stand with them. I deployed my National Guard down there three times, and we will do what we can to help them support and defend their people. It’s the inhumanity of the policies happening right now is striking. You see women suffering. Drug trafficking, human trafficking that’s happening because of the open border policies. It’s inhumane. It needs to stop,” Noem responded.
The American Tribune recently reported on comments from Greg Abbott, where the governor expressed confidence that Texas could successfully challenge the federal government on the recent ruling. “I think, maybe, we will get it to the Fifth Circuit on its merits, where I believe we can win. And I do believe when it gets to the Supreme Court, we can win… No one knows what the [justices] were thinking at all. All we know is they wanted to send it back to the Fifth Circuit,” Gov. Abbott said.
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Featured image credit: By Office of the Governor, South Dakota – https://governor.sd.gov/img/gov-photo2-hires.jpg, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143042393