First time on Fox – A group of 26 attorneys general is defending Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s right to protect the state “from invasion” amid a bitter border dispute between the state and President Biden.
Mr. Abbott said last week that he would assert his Article I authority to defend against “aggressions” at the border as the Biden administration refuses to enforce federal immigration laws. His announcement sparked a controversy that will play out in court over what legal grounds Abbott can assert to support his decision.
In a letter obtained by FOX News Digital, 26 Republican attorneys general told President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that they support the Lone Star State, calling it “part of a coordinated attack on our border.” “There are millions of people who enter Texas illegally.” It is an “invasion” and “a nation must be able to defend itself against invasion.”
The escalating crisis at the Texas-Mexico border continued last week when the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s injunction that had barred Texas from cutting razor-edge fencing along the border near Eagle Pass while the federal government was in litigation. It culminated in a 5-4 decision to temporarily rescind the case. continue.
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Concertina wire lines a road as members of Congress tour areas near the Texas-Mexico border on January 3, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Abbott said the Supreme Court may allow the Biden administration to continue cutting fences, but said the order does not prevent the Biden administration from continuing to build razor wire fences, and that the order does not prevent the Biden administration from continuing to build razor wire fences. Biden said he was committed to doing so despite harsh criticism.
In a letter, the AGs told the White House that “reports that Texas is ignoring or ‘ignoring’ the Supreme Court are false and that they either misunderstand the law or intentionally misrepresent it. As lawyers, you must know that one of the following is true.”
“The Supreme Court’s order does not tell Texas what it can or cannot do. States should be commended for continuing to protect their borders,” the AG noted.
“Nations must be able to defend themselves from aggression,” the AGs said, adding that no one seriously disputes that point.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Article 1, Section 10, Section 3 sets out the circumstances in which a state may act to protect itself in times of crisis, the AGs wrote.
Article I, Section 10, which Abbott said was “triggered” by Biden’s border inaction, states: “No nation shall impose tonnage obligations in times of peace without the consent of Congress. “No troops or warships may be stationed there.” It may not enter into treaties or treaties with other countries or foreign powers, or engage in war, unless there is an actual danger of invasion or an imminent danger that cannot be delayed. ”
“Justice Scalia said it best in his dissent in Arizona v. United States: States have a ‘sovereign interest in protecting their borders,'” he said, referring to the 2012 Supreme Court case.
“Currently, cartels, terrorist organizations, and other bad actors are taking advantage of the chaos at the border to orchestrate a mass influx of people. Gangs are taking advantage of the influx of people to enter the United States. “Predators” are hiding members.” they said.
“The illegal entry of millions of people into Texas as part of a coordinated attack on the border is an invasion. No state, not even Texas, can handle such an influx of people. “No one can, and no one in Texas or the United States knows it. Anyone who crosses the border illegally is engaging in further criminal activity,” they argued.
Abbott declares Texas has ‘right to defend itself’ against immigrant ‘invasion’ amid feud with Biden administration
U.S. Border Patrol agents watch over 2,000 migrants at a field processing center in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Byrd and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who led Monday’s letter, noted that more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border since President Biden’s inauguration day in 2021. . “This would essentially add the populations of Iowa and Utah to our nation within three years,” they said.
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“The invasion of our southern border has turned every state into a border state,” Byrd told FOX News Digital in a statement.
“If the Biden administration is not going to do its job of securing our borders and keeping Americans safe, then it should stand back and let America do its job,” she said.
“The fight in Texas is our fight,” Attorney General Reyes told Fox News Digital. “If the White House won’t protect our laws and our innocent citizens, then states must protect themselves under the U.S. Constitution. I have the authority.”
