Twenty-five Republican governors have signed an open letter supporting Texas Governor Greg Abbott in his escalating conflict with the federal government over who has the authority to enforce border policy.
The letter reads:
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 Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government has the right to dismantle the razor wire that Texas has installed on its border with Mexico.
The razor wire is just the latest development in the state’s fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy. In December, Texas made it a state crime to cross the border undocumented and gave state judges the power to deport migrants.
In the letter, the governors make the argument that states “have a right of self-defence under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the US Constitution,” which applies if the federal government “shirks its constitutional duties to the states.”
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and 22 other governors, signed the letter.
Former President Trump also endorsed the Texas governor, stressing that the border crisis is one of the main points of his campaign for the White House.
On Thursday, the former president called on states to send National Guard troops to Texas to help the state fight the “invasion.” Trump said in a statement:
We encourage all willing States to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of Illegals, and to remove them back across the Border. All Americans should support the common sense measures by Texas authorities to protect the Safety, Security, and Sovereignty of Texas, and of the American people.
Abbott on Thursday said the state continues to install razor wire and said the federal government is “not doing its job.” He said:
President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress. Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border.
Prominent figures on the right wing of the Republican Party have called the standoff something akin to a “civil war.”
