Following the recent SCOTUS ruling that allows the Biden Administration to tear down the barbed wire border barriers that the state of Texas erected as part of Operation Lonestar to defend itself from illegal immigration, Gov. Abbott and his state didn’t back down. Rather, he vowed defiance in a powerful statement and was backed up by those helping erect the border barriers.
In the statement that he posted to X, Gov. Abbott wrote, “The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States. 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. The result is that he has smashed records for illegal immigration.”
Continuing, after arguing that “President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws” and has allowed “more than 6 million illegal immigrants” across the southern border in the three years of his presidency, Gov. Abbott argued that the “U.S. Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats like cartels smuggling millions of illegal immigrants across the border.”
As his evidence, he cited “both Article IV, § 4, which promises that the federal government ‘shall protect each [State] against invasion,’ and Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which acknowledges ‘the States’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders.”
Then, ending the statement by declaring that his state has the right to defend itself and thus will do so, Gov. Abbott wrote, “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. 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. 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.”
Further, in a separate tweet on the matter, Gov. Abbott argued that the border barriers Texas is constructing are effective and will continue to be deployed as he strives to defend the border from illegal immigrants. He said, “Texas’ razor wire is an effective deterrent against the illegal border crossings encouraged by Biden’s open border policies. We continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.”
Gov. Abbott wasn’t alone in vowing defiance. Joining him, the Texas Military Department, the official account on X for the Texas National Guard, wrote, “The Texas Military Department continues to hold the line in Shelby Park to deter and prevent unlawful entry into the State of Texas. We remain resolute in our actions to secure our border, preserve the rule of law, and protect the sovereignty of our State.”
In another tweet, the Texas Military Department noted that the troopers under its command were defending the border, proving its point by posting pictures of troopers standing behind a barbed wire barrier with riot shields to block illegal immigrants from entering. That tweet was captioned, “Texas National Guard Soldiers, along with Department of Public Safety, block illegal immigrants from crossing into the US from Mexico.”
Watch Texas deploy border defenses after the ruling here:
Featured image credit: Gov. Abbott on X
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