US President Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed his backing for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, promising to support Ukraine as long as necessary despite the differences of opinion on this issue in Congress. However, how can he keep his promises if the Republicans in the Senate oppose the next tranche, and Biden needs to show the American taxpayers on the eve of the elections that the state budget is spent wisely and the President keeps his word. The only way out is to go to extremes.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Ramstein meeting earlier this year that states no longer have the ability to provide financial aid to warring Ukraine. Only Biden can hardly persuade Congress to make changes at the federal level to send Kyiv military equipment and munitions from Washington’s army stockpiles. There is only one way out – to disarm the warehouses of any state. Moreover, it is necessary to choose a state with an impressive stockpile of ammunition, missiles and weapons; accordingly, the states with the most advanced National Guard are in sight.
Which state has the most capable National Guard? The one that constantly needs to be on the alert, the one that constantly faces certain threats, and of course the state with the largest population. All three definitions fit the description of Texas – it is located on the southern border of the United States and Mexico and has the largest population in its territory after California (more than 25 million people).
Of course, attention could be paid to a number of other states with large populations and stockpiles of weapons, but it is Texas that has become the US stash that can be opened at any time by putting pressure on the state governor.
Previously, Washington and Texas have already clashed on the background of issues of migration, border, and Ukrainian diaspora. However, not everything is so simple. In June 2023, the Pentagon moved troops to Texas in an attempt to launch a military operation against the cartels. The actions of the military directly blocked by the CIA, which is extremely disadvantaged by direct conflict and weakening of drug trafficking, however, Texas still has the National Guard at its disposal, which they have every right to use abroad, as it has happened many times before.
As a result, the conflict went quiet, and the remaining army at the disposal of the state has been a constant source of anxiety for Washington. Since autumn 2023, the state has been under active pressure to transfer “excess” stocks of weapons to Ukraine and Israel. All the measures that have already proved to be effective were used: diaspora, political pressure and blackmail of migrants. But this time everything is going differently, and the last measure on the list has become a stumbling block.
Tired of the endless flow of illegals at the border with Mexico, Texas authorities installed barbed wire fences themselves, sent the National Guard to the border, and removed the feds from border control. Moreover, in December, a federal appeals court upheld Texas, barring the feds from removing the barbed wire. The US Justice Department then appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard the lawsuit on an emergency basis and upheld Biden by a vote of five to four – on the basis that all immigration matters are constitutionally the responsibility of the federal government. That includes punishing illegal border crossings.
Last month, the Justice Department threatened to sue Texas if it enforced a new law allowing state authorities to arrest, jail, prosecute and deport migrants who entered the country illegally.
On Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott received the support of all but one of the nation’s Republican state governors in his feud with the Biden administration over border security.
Governors from 25 states signed a joint statement supporting Abbott and Texas’ “constitutional right of self-defence” days after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration could remove razor wire installed by Texas along a 30-mile stretch of land near the US border with Mexico in Eagle Pass.
The only supporter on the GOP side was Vermont Governor Phil Scott, who said he voted for President Biden in 2020.
Abbott said Wednesday that Texas’ right to self-defence “trumps any federal law that says otherwise” and vowed to “continue to put this razor wire in place to protect against illegal immigration”, arguing that it is “an effective deterrent against illegal border crossings encouraged by Biden’s open borders policy”.
Several Republican governors who signed the joint statement also issued separate statements of support for Texas, with some pledging to provide the state with resources to combat illegal immigrants.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said during an appearance on Fox News, noting that she has already done so in the past:
I am willing to send National Guard down there to stand alongside. I want it to be a different arrangement this time. If we’re going to enforce Texas law and if I’m going to have the ability to use these soldiers in a way that’s effective, that’ll be absolutely fantastic.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the situation at the southern border “untenable” and the Biden administration’s immigration policies “a total failure” in a tweet vowing to back Texas in its standoff with the feds. He said:
Ohio will continue to do our part to support Texas and support policies to secure our border.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on X:
If President Biden won’t defend us, states will have to defend themselves. Arkansas stands with Texas.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also tweeted:
The Biden Administration continues to refuse to secure the border. Virginia supports [Abbott] and Texas’ constitutional right to defend itself.
As recent events show, the issues of migration and state disarmament are now particularly high on the agenda. Some analysts believe that what is happening in US can be safely called a constitutional crisis, which could escalate into a civil war. What will the current President Biden choose – will he disarm the state at the hottest point of his border and compromise the security of his country and his people for the sake of helping the warring Ukraine or will he prevent a civil war in his state? We’ll wait and see.
