Gov. Abbott Uses Right of ‘Self-Defense’ to Combat Border Crisis

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has invoked the right of “self-defense” to combat the state’s border crisis following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire installed along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“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.”

“Under President Biden’s lawless border policies, more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed our southern border in just 3 years. That is more than the population of 33 different States in this country. This illegal refusal to protect the States has inflicted unprecedented harm on the People all across the United States,” the governor added.

“The failure of the Biden administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV Section 4 has triggered Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense,” he concluded. “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 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 Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border.”