South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem offered to personally drive more razor wire to Texas if it is needed to secure the border at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Thursday.
One day later, she announced that she is heading to the border.
The Biden administration and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have been battling for control of Shelby Park, an extreme hot spot for illegal migration.
On Wednesday, Governor Abbott issued a statement declaring the state's "right to self-defense."
The governor wrote that the Biden administration's failure to "protect each [State] against invasion," as stated in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, "has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3," which reserves the state's "right of self-defense."
"For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself," Gov. Abbott declared. "That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary."
Abbott added that 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."
Gov. Noem discussed the matter during an appearance on Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum on Thursday.
“Governor Abbott has done the exact right thing,” Noem said. “I’ll drive him more razor wire from South Dakota if I have to for him to do his job.”
“What people forget is that governors are commanders-in-chief,” Noem stated. “We’re responsible for the men and women of our National Guard. It’s a heavy responsibility that weighs on our shoulders, and so we never engage our National Guard soldiers and those men and women unless it’s incredibly important.” “Governor Abbott has done the exact right thing, and I’ll drive him some more razor-wire from South Dakota if I have to.”
Love it! pic.twitter.com/JJeH2Bac6p
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) January 26, 2024
The governor also noted that South Dakota’s National Guard has been sent to support the Texas Guard “on multiple deployments.”
“Over two years ago, I declared it a war at the southern border,” she stated.
On Friday, Gov. Noem announced that she was heading to the border. I am on my way to the warzone at the Southern Border to stand with Texas, @gregabbott_tx, and the National Guard.
Biden is failing, so we will continue to do everything we can to help secure the border. pic.twitter.com/ELXaNT2moT
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 26, 2024
Governor Noem was also one of the 25 Republican governors who signed a letter declaring support for Governor Abbott on Thursday.
“President Biden and his Administration have left Americans and our country completely vulnerable to unprecedented illegal immigration pouring across the Southern border. Instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden Administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country," the letter read.We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border. We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.
The governors continued, “The authors of the U.S. Constitution made clear that in times like this, states have a right of self-defense, under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation.”
