More than 14 GOP governors have aligned themselves with Greg Abbott in his opposition to the recent Supreme Court ruling on border policy. Sunday, Feb. 4, Abbott was joined by the governors at Eagle Pass where they held a rally calling for heightened border security.
In January, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration, allowing border patrol agents to cut the razor wire barrier that Texas had installed along its border with Mexico. The justices of the majority opinion and a handful of federal court judges cited concerns over the humanity of using concertina wire.
The Biden administration argued the wire posed a threat to Border Patrol Agents and migrants alike. Often, especially on the portion of the border surrounded by wire, emergencies arise that agents must quickly respond to. However, razor wire cannot be quickly removed in a safe manner for the victim or rescuer.
Representatives of the state of Texas contested on the ground that they owned the border and as such, they have a legal and constitutional right to outfit the border in the manner they deem necessary.
Since the decision, Texas, led by Governor Abbott, has been locked into a fight with the federal government. Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged the state was blocking access to the border, resulting in the deaths of 3 migrants.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton then filed a countersuit against the DHS for unlawfully tampering with and destroying state property. The situation has since escalated to what many are calling a “standoff” an hour southwest of Uvalde, at Eagle Pass where the governor held his rally.
While only 14 of the GOP governors made the trip to Eagle Pass, 25 total have aligned themselves with Abbott’s cause in his “right to self defense” by signing onto a joint statement issued last Thursday.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was among the signing governors, though he was not in attendance at the rally.
The problem in the case arises between the dispute over state and federal rights. Abbott has since declared a state of invasion on the border, insisting he has deployed forces well within the state’s constitutional right to defend itself. Additionally, Abbott argues the Biden administration has failed its obligations to the states that share a border with Mexico.
The federal government is alleging Texas has unlawfully denied and blockaded federal agents from accessing a border that is the constitutional obligation of the federal government.
The 1,254 mile border Texas shares with Mexico is Texas’s border, but in this case the border also forms one part of a much larger border between the United States and Mexico. Conflicting policy and refusal to obey a Supreme Court ruling has led Texas and the United States to the current situation.
While it is currently unclear how either side will proceed in or through the blockade, it will likely involve more legal battles and force both administrations to confront their resolutions on border policy.
