AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) shows no signs of caving to the Biden administration following a Supreme Court decision that gave Border Patrol agents permission to slash state-installed razor wire at the border.
In what has been a two-week battle between state and federal government over which entity has authority over a 2.5-mile strip of Texas land, the Republican governor weighed in Wednesday afternoon with a lengthy statement that blatantly defied the Biden administration’s orders to stand down.
Abbott argued Texas has a “constitutional right to self-defense” in an open letter explaining that the White House had failed to hold up its end of the compact that guarantees the federal government will protect its 50 states and territories by not taking action to quell the influx of illegal immigrants over the past three years.
“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.
By not taking additional action to protect Texas, Abbott said he was justified in declaring an “invasion” in November 2022.
“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.”
The third-term governor said that because he believed the federal government had not fulfilled its duty to protect the state at the international border and the state chose to act on its own, Texas has legal authority to sidestep existing law that would mandate it follow federal policies.
“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.”
The Department of Homeland Security sent Attorney General Ken Paxton a letter on Tuesday in which DHS General Counsel Jonathan Meyer called out the state for its inaction after the highest court rescinded an appeals court injunction and allowed federal police to cut down razor wire fencing in Eagle Pass in order to rescue and apprehend illegal immigrants as they cross the Rio Grande.
“The state has alleged that Shelby Park is open to the public, but we do not believe this statement is
accurate,” Meyer said. “To our knowledge, Texas has only permitted access to Shelby Park by allowing public entry for a memorial, the media, and use of the golf course adjacent to Shelby Park, all while continuing to restrict U.S. Border Patrol’s access to the park.”
Meyer said the Supreme Court decision allowed federal law enforcement to not only cut wire at the border but be present at the border, the latter of which has not been possible since the Texas National Guard commandeered the strip of city land and locked out federal employees on Jan. 10.
“The Department must also have the ability to access the border in the Shelby Park area that is currently obstructed by Texas,” Meyer wrote.
But despite the court’s decision, Texas National Guard soldiers reaffirmed the state’s position Tuesday. Soldiers in Eagle Pass installed more razor wire at the river and laid out more fencing and concertina wire despite the rain that swept through the region on Tuesday, according to video.
The DHS maintained in its letter that it had the upper hand in terms of legal ground that allowed its personnel to be on city land along the border. It cited the U.S. Code, in which the department acquired permanent real estate interests in and around Eagle Pass in 2008 to build border wall barriers in the vicinity.
Abbott’s argument Wednesday afternoon stated that the federal code was irrelevant because of the state’s invasion declaration in response to the federal government not holding up its compact to the states.
Abbott added that he has repeatedly stated his concerns about the border to the Biden administration, including during a brief in-person meeting in El Paso in early 2022, when he handed Biden a written letter.
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The showdown between state and federal leaders comes after three immigrants drowned attempting to wade across the river from Mexico on Jan. 12. Border Patrol officials in Eagle Pass were alerted to immigrants who had drowned and two others in distress and attempted to respond but were denied access at a gate into the state-seized land.
The DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
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