Texas is currently in a multi-pronged legal fight with the federal government over border security between Texas and Mexico, Fox News reported.
The federal government has threatened legal action over Texas’ recent takeover of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, and litigation is ongoing over the administration’s cutting of razor wire installed by Texas and the installation of buoys on the Rio Grande.
Therefore, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that federal agents can remove razor wire from the Texas-Mexico border set up by state authorities, including the Texas National Guard.
A response followed from Governor Greg Abbott who on Wednesday released a letter invoking “Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself” against what he termed as a migrant “invasion” of the Lone Star State.
The Biden administration stressed that Texas is interfering with federal enforcement of immigration law:
“Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility,” a DHS spokesperson said this week. “Rather than helping to reduce irregular migration, the State of Texas has only made it harder for frontline personnel to do their jobs and to apply consequences under the law. We can enforce our laws and administer them safely, humanely, and in an orderly way.”
A high-ranking CBP official told Fox that the relationship between Texas and frontline personnel on the ground is “strong.”
“While this issue plays out in the courts, the relationship between Border Patrol, Texas DPS [Department of Public Safety], & TMD [Texas Military Dept.] remains strong,” the official said. “Our focus is and will always be the mission of protecting this country and its people. On the ground, we continue to work alongside these valuable partners in that endeavour.”
The cooperation was welcomed by the border patrol union, which in a lengthy statement rejected the idea of arresting Texas National Guard members at the hands of border patrol agents:
TX NG and rank-and-file BP agents work together and respect each other’s jobs. Period. If TX NG members have LAWFUL orders, then they have to carry out those orders, the National Border Patrol Council said on X.
