Gov. Greg Abbott issued a defiant statement Wednesday saying Texas has a constitutional right to defend its borders after the Supreme Court ruled that the feds could cut down the state’s razor-wire border fence.
Mr. Abbott said he gave President Biden repeated chances to defend the border, but he failed, so Texas has had to step in to plug the gap.
The governor said he’s declared an “invasion” under the Constitution, which he said gives states special authority to defend their own borders in cases where the national government does not.
“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 Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border,” Mr. Abbott said.
The most pointed clash right now is happening in Eagle Pass, where Texas National Guard troops have taken control of a local park that had been a major staging point for illegal immigrants to cross the Rio Grande and reach U.S. soil.
Texas has also placed razor wire along miles of the river to try to discourage people from wading across.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents can cut the wire.
But images of Texas authorities reinforcing the wire have spread across social media.
At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Mr. Biden has the authority to nationalize the Texas National Guard and order them to desist. But he said Mr. Biden has made no such determination.
The high court’s ruling was 5-4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three Democratic appointees in erasing a lower court injunction that had blocked the feds from cutting wire except in emergency cases.
The justices did not release any opinions describing their thinking, though in the lower courts, the critical issue was whether the federal government had waived sovereign immunity to allow the issue to reach the courts.