Thirteen Republican governors joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Eagle Pass on the state's southern border in support of Texas' recent efforts to enforce border security.
Late last month, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in favor of the federal government's legality to remove sections of Texas' razor wire deployed to combat illegal border crossings.
In response, Abbott released a statement declaring President Joe Biden and his administration had violated Article IV, § 4 of the Constitution, which notes the federal government “shall protect each [State] against invasion.” Abbott cited Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which acknowledges “the States’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders," and declared the state's right to defend its southern border from illegal border crossings.
The following governors joined Abbott at Eagle Pass: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Nebraska Gov. Jill Pillen, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
“Governor Abbott has been stepping up where the federal government is dropping their duty,” Sanders told The Daily Wire on Sunday. “So states are coming together, working together, to help do the job of the federal government.”
“Hopefully the federal government sees that Texas and other states are capable of doing the job they claim is impossible, and that they’ll start helping in the process,” Sanders continued. “If they don’t, you’ll continue to see states step up because we know that we have to protect our border and protect the people of our states.”
Gianforte also lauded Abbott's efforts to secure the state's southern border.
“They have virtually shut down crossings here in Eagle Pass,” Gianforte told the outlet. “They showed pictures of 3,500 people in a detention center right here in this park. … In the last couple of weeks — since they’ve taken the actions here to secure the border — they’ve had single digit crossings each day.”
The Montana governor said his state, which borders Canada to the north, has also become victim to the nation's southern border crisis and had deployed its own National Guard to assist Texas' efforts.
“We’ve been able to shut down Montana Meth but now we have Mexican Meth in Montana along with the fentanyl, and it’s breaking up families, it’s increasing violent crime,” Gianforte said. “We need to secure our border and put it to an end.”
Abbott commended national guard troops for a reduction in border crossings since the effort began last month.
“Joe Biden has completely abdicated and abandoned his responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States,” Abbott said. “As opposed to detaining any illegal immigrants, Biden has instead let them all loose across the entire country with no ability to accurately determine their whereabouts.”
In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Abbott said Texas is “prepared” for potential conflict with federal authorities amid their mission to enforce border security.
