Greg Abbott Skewers Biden Admin in Statement, Declares Right to Defend Texas 'Supersedes Any Federal Statutes'
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
On Jan. 24, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a blistering statement aimed at President Joe Biden and his administration in which he declared his state would protect itself amid the ongoing border crisis.
Abbott also slammed Biden personally and stated in no uncertain terms that Texas has every legal right to protect its own borders and citizens.
For more than three years, Texas has seen many of its communities turned into what are essentially refugee centers.
Biden’s refusal to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the country has resulted in millions of people who have no rightful claim for asylum in the U.S. now bogging down public services nationwide.
Earlier that week, the Biden administration successfully argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that its own deployment of razor wire on the border was inhumane.
In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled federal agents could remove the razor wire and any other barriers that were keeping people out of Texas.
My statement on Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense. pic.twitter.com/seNFZdmujP
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 24, 2024
On his X account on Jan. 24, Abbott penned and shared a furious message directed at the White House.
“The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States,” Abbot wrote. “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.”
Abbott continued, “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 was delivered to him by hand — President Biden has ignored Texas’s demand that he perform his constitutional duties.”
Abbott also laid out a series of complaints about Biden’s handling of immigration law enforcement throughout his term in the White House.
“President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress,” Abbot wrote. “Instead of prosecuting illegal 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.”
Abbot also wrote that Biden has not only wasted money to open the border, but that his policies have also endangered people seeking to enter the country away from Texas’ 28 legal entry points from Mexico.
Instead, Abbott argued, Biden’s policies have sent many of those people to swim across the Rio Grande — risking their lives and the lives of others.
He further noted that the estimated six million illegal immigrants who have entered the country under Biden’s watch are more than the population of 33 different states throughout the country.
“This illegal refusal to protect the States has inflicted unprecedented harm on the People all across the United States,” Abbott argued.
Citing the country’s founding fathers and documents, the Texas governor said his state will “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.”
The governor concluded: “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion … to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.
“That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Satiety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border.”
A video that went viral on social media Jan. 24 showed Texas National Guard troops installing new razor wire near Eagle Pass, Texas.
NEW: Texas Military doubling down by installing more razor wire and anti-climb fencing in Shelby Park. This coming after SCOTUS ruling that allows border patrol agents to cut through the razor wire.
Texas officials have seized control of Shelby Park – we have not seen BP agents… pic.twitter.com/6PPOXtAwJE
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) January 23, 2024
Abbott’s letter essentially dared Biden to send in federal forces to prevent state agencies from protecting citizens from the ongoing border invasion.
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