Texas Is ‘Prepared’ If Biden Federalizes State National Guard: Gov. Abbott

Texas National Guardsmen add razor wire and barriers along the U.S.–Mexico border in Shelby Park, Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 23, 2024. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that his state is “prepared” to deal with President Joe Biden potentially federalizing its National Guard as the Lone Star State utilizes the troops to secure the border.

On Jan. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal agents could not be blocked from removing the razor wire that Texas has placed along the U.S.-Mexico border. In response, Gov. Abbott announced that his state will not “back down from our efforts to secure the border.” This triggered Democrats to call on President Biden to federalize the National Guard.

The razor wire along the border was set up by the Texas National Guard and the state’s Department of Public Safety. In a Jan. 26 interview with Tucker Carlson, Gov. Abbott was asked about his response if President Biden goes ahead with the proposal.

“Well, first, I'd be shocked. That would be a boneheaded move on his part—total disaster,” Gov. Abbott said. “For one, as you might imagine, we are prepared in the event that that unlikely event does occur to make sure that we will be able to continue exactly what we’ve been doing over the past month, and that is building these barriers.”

“Whatever we’ve been building, the Biden administration is now trying to attack us because of it, and we will continue to do exactly what we’re doing to expand our denial of illegal entry into the state of Texas.”

Gov. Abbott pointed out that state forces were already operating at the border and that he expects more forces to come to Texas from other state National Guards.

“There’ve been about ten [states] so far that have sent National Guard or other law enforcement … They now are joined together with us. This is a fight for the future of America, and they all know it. And so I believe that they will all be in on this effort.”

In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, the governor said that Texas was “adding more razor wire as we speak right now to make sure that we are doing even more to secure the border.”

Gov. Abbott insisted that his state has the authority to defy the U.S. federal government in accordance with the U.S. Constitution since the founding fathers believed that “there would be times when the federal government does not do its job and states have a right of self-defense.”

On Wednesday, Gov. Abbott accused the Biden administration of failing to fulfill the duties outlined in Article IV, Section 4, which asks the federal government to protect each state against “invasion.”

President Biden’s failure has triggered “Article 1, Section, 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense,” he said.

The governor declared an invasion under Clause 3 and invoked “Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.”

The conflict between the federal government and Texas comes as the U.S. border patrol registered 302,034 encounters with illegal migrants along the southwest land border in December—the highest level since 2021.

Supporting Texas

Republicans have announced strong support for Texas in the clash with the federal government. “Joe Biden is defying federal law by allowing 9.6M illegal aliens to flood through our border,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said in a Jan. 26 post.

“If the federal government won’t step up, Texas has the Constitutional authority to protect itself. I’m proud to stand with Texas and Governor Abbott as we work to stop this invasion.”

Former President Donald Trump also backed Texas. “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,” he said in a Jan. 25 statement.

“All Americans should support the commonsense measures by Texas authorities to protect the safety, security, and sovereignty of Texas, and of the American people. When I am president, on day one, instead of fighting Texas, I will work hand in hand with Governor Abbott and other border states to stop the invasion, seal the border, and rapidly begin the largest domestic deportation operation in history.”

The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), which represents around 18,000 Border Patrol (BP) agents and support personnel assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol, extended support to Texas’ measures as well.

“Rank-and-file BP agents appreciate and respect what TX has been doing to defend their state in the midst of this catastrophe that the Biden Admin has unleashed on America,” it said in a Jan. 26 post.

“We want to be perfectly clear; there is no fight between rank-and-file BP agents and the TX NG (National Guard), Gov. Abbott, or TX DPS (Department of Public Safety). It may make flashy headlines, but it simply isn’t true.”

Meanwhile, calls for impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis are gaining steam. Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) is expected to introduce articles of impeachment against the official next week.

“Secretary Mayorkas has outdone himself yet again—never have we seen such catastrophic numbers, even with historically high encounter numbers on his watch,” he said in a statement. “December’s numbers serve as more undeniable proof that Secretary Mayorkas must be impeached.

“This staggering number of encounters at our borders only happens by design and a willful refusal to comply with the laws passed by Congress.”