A record number of illegal migrants have crossed the Mexican border into Texas. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images North America
Texas says it is defending itself against an «intrusion» on its border in an increasingly bitter dispute with the Biden administration over America's escalating migrant crisis.
Gov. Texas Greg Abbott accused Joe Biden of being a “lawless.” president and invoked the state's right to «self-defense» along the border with Mexico.
He argued that the US government was violating its constitutional duty to «enforce» immigration laws amid record numbers of border crossings in the American Southwest. .
The governor has led efforts in Republican-led border states to test the limits of the Biden administration's immigration powers.
Amid the most extreme measures, Mr Abbott has announced an «invasion» of Texas borders. , referring to a state's «constitutional right to defend itself»—essentially the right to wage war in the event of an invasion.
Legal experts called it a «brewing constitutional crisis,» but half of America's governors sided with Abbott in the showdown with the federal government.
“We are doing this in part because the Biden administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws that already exist and is illegally allowing mass paroles across America of migrants who entered our country illegally,” the 25 GOP governors said. in a joint statement.
Many have also pledged more resources to Texas, with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine offering to contribute troops to their states' National Guard.
This is the latest flashpoint in the bitter debate between Republican governors and the White House over how to manage the influx of migrants that the United States has seen over the past few years.
More than six million illegal border crossings have been made. has been on record since Biden took office, a figure that has become a political albatross for the president as he seeks a second term, with voters regularly citing the border as a key election issue in polls.
His administration has said it is ensuring enforcement of immigration laws, noting that it has expelled more people since last May than in all of 2019.
But she argues that Congress needs to pass more funding and comprehensive legislation to properly address the problem. Greg Abbott argues that The US government is violating its constitutional duty to 'enforce' immigration law
Mr. Abbott has previously sent carloads of new arrivals from Texas to Democratic-led cities to highlight the damaging impact on the Lone Star State's border facilities.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said he was also helping by ferrying planeloads of migrants from border areas to deep blue areas, including the wealthy island enclave of Martha's Vineyard.
Tens of thousands of migrants have been dropped off in New York, Los Angeles and even outside Vice President Kamala Harris's residence in Washington.
Operation Lone Star
A similar partisan effort is unfolding in Congress, where Republicans are scheduled to vote on articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden's Homeland Security secretary, on Tuesday.
Under an initiative called Operation Lone Star, Mr. Abbott activated the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas National Guard troops and other personnel to secure the border.
He also signed sweeping legislation, set to take effect in March, pending trial, that would allow state and local law enforcement to make mass arrests of migrants crossing the border from Mexico into Texas between ports of entry.
Other The crackdown as part of the multibillion-dollar effort includes the installation of barbed wire and sawtooth buoys along the Rio Grande, which has been linked to a number of injuries among undocumented migrants.
People cross the Rio Grande despite the installation of barbed wire. Photo: VERONICA CARDENAS/REUTERS
The actions have raised numerous legal challenges, including from the federal government.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration in a dispute over whether federal border agents can continue to cut razor wire in Texas established.
The White House has called razor wire a counterproductive “political stunt,” arguing that it actually makes it “more difficult and dangerous” for frontline officers to “do their jobs.”< /p>
“Ultimately, we need adequate resources and policy changes to fix our broken immigration system,” said Angelo Fernandez Hernandez, a White House spokesman.
However, hopes for this seem bleak because of the Republicans in Congress and Democrats. They are increasingly unable to unite their parties to take action, let alone reach a bipartisan agreement.
“A constitutional crisis is brewing”
Despite the Supreme Court's decision, Mr. Abbott has redoubled his efforts, insisting that he will continue to «invoke Texas's constitutional powers to protect and defend itself.»
He added that the powers «supersede any federal law , contradicting this.»
Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University, said the Texas governor's speech had «shades of confederate rhetoric» and tested the «outer limits of state sovereignty» under the US Constitution.
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Professor Kreis also noted that using the term «invasion» to «include all forms of immigration and asylum seeking» was a misrepresentation of the law.
He added: “People use the term very loosely.
However, Mr. Abbott received the support of senior Republicans, including Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House and Mr. DeSantis.
The Florida governor said: “If the Constitution really deprived the states ability to protect oneself from invasion, it would not have been ratified at all.”
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