Lt. gov.: Texas ‘will not stop’ putting up razor wire on border after Supreme Court ruling

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) said Monday that the state will not allow razor wire on the U.S.-Mexico border, despite last week’s Supreme Court order allowing federal law enforcement to take down barriers erected by the state. He said construction of wire and other fencing will continue.

“Martha, we’re putting wires everywhere we can,” he told Fox News’ Martha McCallum on Monday. “We will continue. We will not stop. If it runs out, we will replace it.”

The narrow border area near Eagle Pass, Texas, is at the center of a standoff between the state and the Biden administration over border authority and security. Federal authorities claimed that the Texas National Guard blocked federal Border Patrol access to Shelby Park. Shelby Park was previously used by the Border Patrol to process immigrants and for boat launches on the Rio Grande.

The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can remove Texas’ barriers in the area and ensure federal law enforcement access across the border.

Patrick threatened a “confrontation” with state authorities if the Biden administration sent in Border Patrol to remove the barriers.

“On Friday, I was going to be there with our troops to thank them, to support them, and to support them in case the Biden administration sends Border Patrol agents there,” he said. “Wisely, they didn’t do that. We’re grateful they didn’t. We don’t want confrontation, but we do want this border to be secure.”

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) last week argued that states have the right to repel “invasion” and that state authority “supersedes” federal law.

Some Democrats are calling on Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard, tear down state barriers and force federal access to the border. Republican governors in about two dozen states have backed Mr. Abbott, expressing support for him and criticizing the court’s ruling.

Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically alleges that the federal government has “broken its agreements” with the states, justifying its disregard for federal law and the Supreme Court.

So-called “Compact theory” It is a rejected idea of ​​state supremacy that was used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court rejected the legal theory many times in the early years of the United States, when it was first proposed to invalidate federal laws during the tenure of former President John Adams.

The standoff comes amid negotiations over a bipartisan border bill and as Congressional Republicans push Biden and Democrats further on border security demands.