Comedian Roseanne Barr Sides With Texas in Border Dispute

Roseanne Barr participates in "Is America a Forgiving Nation?'' in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sep. 17, 2018. Rachel Luna/Getty Images

Roseanne Barr recently chatted with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton about the ongoing border dispute, which the Emmy Award-winning actor has called “one of the most important issues in America right now.”

During a January interview on “The Roseanne Barr Podcast,” the pair discussed the constitutional standoff at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas. Nestled on the banks of the Rio Grande, the 47-acre park has become a battleground amid the escalating feud between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration, as the former attempts to secure the southern border and deter illegal immigration.

Last fall, Mr. Paxton sued the Biden administration for cutting down razor wire and fencing the state had erected to protect its border.

“They were claiming we were interfering with their ability to stop people from crossing illegally. They were doing just the opposite. They just need more room to do it,” Mr. Paxton told Ms. Barr.

In total, about 1.4 million illegal immigrants entered Texas from January to September 2023 alone, per Newsweek. In January of this year, Mr. Abbott deployed Texas National Guard troops to take control of the park, which has reportedly been a heavily trafficked thoroughfare for illegal immigrants crossing into the state. Later in January, the Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents do have authority to remove the razor wire.

“They don’t want us to do anything to protect our citizens,” Mr. Paxton told Ms. Barr. “We just have a few areas where we’re trying to block off [and] protect our people from crime and the Supreme Court said, ‘No, you can’t protect your people from crime or anything else.’”

‘Without a Border, We Have No Country’

Ms. Barr affirmed the importance of maintaining a strong barrier between Texas and Mexico.

“Without a border, we have no country, no laws, and no vote,” she told The Epoch Times via email, noting that “having an open border is like being forced by law to keep your door wide open at night or face arrest.”

The comedian told The Epoch Times that she “felt sadness” over the Supreme Court’s ruling, which Mr. Paxton said on the podcast was “very helpful to the Biden administration—and very helpful to the cartels,” who have reportedly been funneling drugs, including fentanyl, into the country.

“People are dying, there are kids that are dying from fentanyl overdoses. I know kids that have died and crime is on the uptick,” Mr. Paxton said. “The cost of this is going to affect every American. We’re all paying for it whether we know it or not.”

To help tackle crime at the border, Mr. Abbott launched his border security initiative, Operation Lone Star, in 2021. Since then, Texas law enforcement has made over 39,000 criminal arrests and seized more than 458 million lethal doses of fentanyl, “enough to kill more than everyone in the United States and Canada” combined, according to a statement made by the governor’s office on Feb. 8.

“In Texas, we’ve been able to achieve a decrease in illegal crossings only because of great teamwork,” Mr. Abbott said. “Part of that teamwork is our partnership with the Texas National Guard, and we are currently working with the Texas Military Department to add more razor wire, anti-climb barrier, and personnel.”

On Jan. 25, a group of 25 governors signed a statement backing Texas in its fight to hold the line, including Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Illegal Immigration

Mr. Paxton said he believes the Biden administration is purposefully allowing illegal immigrants to enter Republican states “to punish” them and make it harder for them “to compete against the Democratic states.” Ms. Barr agreed, telling The Epoch Times she believes “owners of this country import voters illegally now.”

Currently, noncitizens, including permanent legal residents, are not allowed to vote in federal and state elections, but some areas do allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections.

“I think they want to bring people in that are going to cost Republican states a lot of money and [...] bring in crime,” Mr. Paxton continued. He also cited growing concerns over the sheer number of people who are moving out of Democrat-led cities and into red states. According to the 2020 census, Texas had gained the most new residents of any state since the 2010 census. Its population increased by 4 million people to a total of 29.1 million.

“In America right now, people are voting with their feet. They’re moving into Texas, they’re moving to Florida, they’re moving to Tennessee, they’re moving to Utah, they’re moving to Republican states because we have lower taxes, we provided a lot more opportunities,” he said.

“They’re trying to create problems for Republican states to make it less desirable and make us less likely to be successful with the policies that we know [...] work,” he added.

On Feb. 4, a group of 13 GOP governors joined Mr. Abbott in Eagle Pass for a briefing on Operation Lone Star’s efforts. In a statement, the Texas governor said the president had “abandoned his constitutional duty to protect Americans” by refusing to secure the Texas-Mexico border.

“Instead of upholding immigration laws already on the books, President Biden sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue the State of Texas for doing the job he should have been doing all along,“ he continued. ”Half of America’s governors, including those here with me today, have banded together to make one thing clear: Americans stand with Texas and our right to protect and defend our state from the crisis at our southern border.”

Following his visit on Feb. 4, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp revealed during a Feb. 13 press conference that he would be sending additional Georgia National Guard troops to the border in a show of support for Texas.