The constitutional crisis that we expected Joe Biden’s Great Replacement invasion of illegal aliens would provoke is finally here. The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered Texas to remove razor wire that it installed along the Rio Grande. Despite the order, Governor Greg Abbott is keeping the wire up and the Texas National Guard on patrol. He shows no sign of surrender. Biden, Abbott rightly says, has broken the constitutional compact between the United States and Texas. Republican governors stand behind Abbott, and the ball is in Biden’s court. He could send federal troops to remove the barriers, which would likely destroy his remaining public approval. But if he does nothing, he will give Red States carte blanche to do what’s right. Abbott correctly forced a showdown. It’s the only way to stop Biden’s invasion.
Statement on Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense.
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) January 24, 2024
Full statement: https://t.co/D1cI3In0cr pic.twitter.com/6CJ0aTFR4K
Texas has been at the forefront of combating the Biden Regime’s Open Border policies. Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately sued the Biden Regime when it froze deportations early on [Federal judge temporarily halts Biden’s deportation freeze in response to Texas AG Paxton’s lawsuit, by Alex Briseno and Dianne Solis, Dallas Morning News, January 26, 2021].
And Paxton has led many other lawsuits against the federal government, suing over Remain in Mexico, Title 42 public-health expulsions, and other policies that made it easier for illegals to get into America. He’s had some success with the lawfare and forced the Regime to maintain at least some basic enforcement.
Texas also led the way on busing migrants to Sanctuary Cities. Starting in the spring of 2022, Abbott delivered tens of thousands of illegals to Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other Blue cities that claimed to welcome the “undocumented.” This idea made the entire country face the problem of an open border. Leftists wanted these illegals to stay in an out-of-the-way flyover country, but Abbott served Texans by placing the illegal-alien burden on the cities that want them. Sanctuary Cities now regret their policies. Several face severe budget woes. They’re begging Biden to give them relief, but none is forthcoming. The busing showed that immigration is the key threat to the nation. It’s even made some Leftists second-guess their own policies [Democratic mayors plead with Biden for help addressing migrant crisis, by Gage Jackson, Scripps News, November 2, 20223].
But Texas’ boldest move: enforcing immigration law on its own. In December, it passed laws to fund more border barriers and criminalize illegal entry into the state from a foreign country. The Texas National Guard and state law enforcement have been patrolling the border for several months. It has placed barriers on the border, such as a buoy barrier on the Rio Grande.
During the summer, Texas began planting razor wire at Eagle Pass, Ground Zero for Biden’s invasion. The Regime sued to remove it, and SCOTUS ruled 5-4 for the Regime. That vindicates VDARE.com’s skepticism toward Amy Coney Barrett when she was confirmed in 2020. A woman with adopted Haitian children, who cries over George Floyd, cannot be trusted on the national question. The other “conservative” vote for the Regime was John Roberts, a well-established squish on all matters [Supreme Court Backs Biden in Dispute With Texas Over Border Barrier, by Adam Liptak, New York Times, January 22, 2024].
But SCOTUS left a loophole. Its ruling doesn’t order Texas to remove the razor wire—but instead just says the Feds can remove it.
That leaves Biden adrift between Scylla and Charybdis. The Feds have taken down these kinds of barriers before, but with much criticism. It’s terrible optics to side with illegal-alien invaders. A new Harvard-Harris poll found that Americans now rate immigration as the top issue facing the country, with 35 percent of respondents picking it as their chief concern. Fifty-seven percent of voters say they “miss Donald Trump’s policies on the economy, immigration, and crime.” Expect these numbers to increase if Biden cracks down on Texas [Poll: Biden’s Migration Is Number One Issue in U.S. Politics, by Neil Munro, Breitbart, January 23, 2024].
Biden would hand Republicans a massive, election-year gift if he prioritized removing the razor wire. Videos would make perfect ads for Trump’s reelection campaign [Texas is exploiting a loophole in a new Supreme Court ruling to keep putting up razor-wire fencing at the border, by Natalie Musumeci, Business Insider, January 24, 2024].
Yet if Biden backs down, he would invite Texas to do even more. The state plans to start arresting illegals in March, which will set up another court battle with the Regime. Of course, the SCOTUS ruling this week does not augur well for what decision it might make. Whatever the court decides, Texas must continue enforcing immigration law and dare Biden to stop it.
That’s what Abbott has done. After SCOTUS betrayed the Historic American Nation, he told the Feds to come and tear down the wire. His statement on the court’s ruling is one of the strongest on the invasion and demonstrates his astute understanding of what his state is allowed to do. He placed the constitutional violation squarely on Biden:
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.
Despite having been put on notice in a series of letters—one of which I delivered to him by hand—President Biden has ignored Texas’s demand that he perform his constitutional duties.
- President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress. Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border.
- President Biden has instructed his agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants. The effect is to illegally allow their en masse parole into the United States.
- By wasting taxpayer dollars to tear open Texas’s border security infrastructure, President Biden has enticed illegal immigrants away from the 28 legal entry points along this State’s southern border—bridges where nobody drowns—and into the dangerous waters of the Rio Grande. …
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the other visionaries who wrote 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. That is why the Framers included 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.” Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387, 419 (2012)
Fortunately, Abbott’s strong pushback against Biden has inspired 25 governors to back Texas, including Florida’s Ron DeSantis, Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin, and Georgia’s Brian Kemp. Texas’ stand has also earned the support of GOP U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and many other congressional Republicans. Conservatives cheer Abbott’s defiance. For once, The Official Right is not cucking. That’s a very positive sign [BORDER SHOWDOWN: Republican Governors Across U.S. Stand with Texas Against Feds, by Bob Price, Breitbart, January 25, 2024].
Holy shlit. 25 Republican governors just signed a joint letter in support of the TX Resistance. pic.twitter.com/kgJSpjnqN8
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 25, 2024
Whatever happens with this fight, Republicans must reinforce that immigration is the primary threat to the country. Placing razor wire and other barriers at the border and arresting illegals is a great policy that sends a message: If the federal government refuses to enforce immigration law, the states will. Greg Abbott deserves patriot support.
Immigration will dominate this election year’s discourse. Republicans must do more than complain. They must fight.
Texas shows the way.
Washington Watcher II [Email him] is an anonymous DC insider.
