Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott must be given “full support” in his standoff with President Biden over the border, including the state’s ability to “repel” illegal immigrants.
Mr. Trump, in a statement, backed Mr. Abbott’s invocation of the Constitution’s “invasion” clause to claim expansive powers to defend the border.
“Instead of fighting to protect our Country from this onslaught, Biden is, unbelievably, fighting to tie the hands of Governor Abbott and the State of Texas, so that the Invasion continues unchecked,” Mr. Trump said.
The Abbott–Biden fight escalated this week after the Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the feds to cut down the razor wire fence Texas has placed along miles of the Rio Grande.
The state said the wire was intended to stop migrants from easily wading across the river and entering the U.S., and would instead push them to enter at official border crossings. The Biden administration says the wire is interfering with its management of the border and catch-and-release process.
Texas National Guard troops have taken control of a local park in Eagle Pass, Texas, which had been a key entry point for illegal immigrants.
The Biden administration has demanded access to the park.
Mr. Abbott, in a statement Wednesday, justified his measures by pointing to the Constitution, which gives states special authority to repel an “invasion.” Mr. Abbott says that’s what the border breakdown under Mr. Biden has become.
“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,” the governor said.
Mr. Trump agreed.
“In the face of this National Security, Public Safety, and Public Health Catastrophe, Texas has rightly invoked the Invasion Clause of the Constitution, and must be given full support to repel the Invasion,” the former president said in a statement.
Immigration groups have blasted Mr. Abbott for his moves, saying the invasion rhetoric is a “White nationalist conspiracy theory” and begging the Biden administration to come down hard on Mr. Abbott.
The White House this week said Mr. Biden has the option of nationalizing the state’s National Guard, but said the president has not yet made that decision.