25 Governors Side with Texas Against the Feds Over Biden's Border Crisis

AUSTIN – In a display of solidarity, twenty-five Republican governors have thrown their weight behind Texas Governor Greg Abbott as he defies a U.S. Supreme Court order regarding the removal of razor wire along the United States-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Governor Abbott took to social media on Tuesday, announcing that the Texas National Guard would persist in "holding the line" at Eagle Pass. In a subsequent statement released on Wednesday, Abbott accused the Biden administration of shirking its responsibility to enforce immigration laws, claiming it had "broken the compact" between states and the federal government. He has garnered support from at least 25 governors who agree with his classification of immigration as an "invasion" and his invocation of "Texas' constitutional authority to defend and protect itself."

A column published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday by Will Bunch drew parallels between the potential standoff at Eagle Pass and historical events, with some online commenters likening it to the situation at Fort Sumter, North Carolina, that triggered the Civil War. Bunch, however, suggested another comparison, stating, "Abbott's reckless, cruelty-is-the-point policies and his defiant stand are also posing the greatest threat to federal authority since the South's 'massive resistance' in the 1950s and '60s to the Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Ed ruling that mandated school integration."

Bunch warned that if President Biden were to back down at Eagle Pass, the country would face an uncertain future, paraphrasing with a nod to former President Trump.

Abbott, in his statement, cited the U.S. Constitution and invoked the principles of founding fathers James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. He pointed to Article IV, Section 4, which promises federal protection against "invasion," and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3, recognizing a state's "sovereign interest" in protecting its borders. Abbott argued:

"The failure of the Biden administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this state the right of self-defense. For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas' 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."

Following Abbott's statement, several GOP governors reshared it on social media with messages of support. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, echoing the sentiment, wrote on Wednesday, "Virginia stands with Texas," arguing that "the Biden administration has turned every state into a border state."