Former President Donald Trump responded to the conflict between officials in Texas and the federal Customs Border Patrol, saying that President Joe Biden is “unbelievable” in his actions regarding the border.
“Joe Biden has surrendered our border and is aiding and abetting a massive invasion of millions of illegal migrants into the United States,” President Trump said in a Jan. 25 post to Truth Social.
“Instead of fighting to protect our country from this onslaught, Biden is, unbelievably, fighting to tie the hands of Governor [Greg] Abbott and the state of Texas so that the invasion continues unchecked.
“In the face of this national security, public safety, and public health catastrophe, Texas has rightly invoked the invasion clause of the Constitution and must be given full support to repel the invasion.”
The former president’s comments came during a high-profile conflict between federal border protection agencies and the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard due to the use of razor wire along the Rio Grande River, separating Texas and Mexico.
This week, federal officials were granted permission to cut the razor wire by the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed with the Biden administration in an emergency appeal.
Though some legal experts have pointed out that the 5-4 judgment does not forbid Texas from installing the razor wire, it only permits federal officers to cut it.
The order from the Supreme Court was vague.
Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Chief Justice John Roberts cast affirmative votes. Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito were among the justices who cast dissenting votes.
The decision caused outrage by many, and Texas’s Gov. Greg Abbott has said that the order will not keep him from adding more of the contentious barrier along the border.
“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,” the former president said.
“All Americans should support the commonsense measures by Texas authorities to protect the safety, security, and sovereignty of Texas, and of the American people.”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that Joe Biden is trying to stop governors from doing everything they can to protect their citizens.”
A Supreme Court decision on Jan. 22 allowed federal officers to remove razor wire from the Texas-Mexico border, which Mr. Abbott ordered installed, adding fuel to the fire of rising tensions between federal and Texas authorities.
Mr. Abbott issued the letter, maintaining his position that illegal immigration is an “invasion” of Texas.
He further stated that he had used “Texas’ constitutional authority to defend and protect itself,” stating that this authority “is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.”
The letter asserted that President Biden had “violated his oath” and “instructed his agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants.” It also stated that the impact of federal policy “is to illegally allow their en masse parole into the United States.”
“Under President Biden’s lawless border policies, more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed our southern border in just three years.
“That is more than the population of 33 different states in this country. This illegal refusal to protect the states has inflicted unprecedented harm on the people all across the United States.”
The framers of the U.S. Constitution “foresaw that states should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats like cartels smuggling millions of illegal immigrants across the border.”
That is why they “included both Article IV, [Section] 4, which promises that the federal government ‘shall protect each [state] against invasion,’ and Article I, [Section] 10, Clause 3, which acknowledges ‘the states’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders,’” he wrote, citing the dissent of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in Arizona v. United States (2012).
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte voiced support for Texas on Jan. 23, before Mr. Abbott released his Jan. 24 statement.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis likewise backed Mr. Abbott. He said his state would “keep assisting Texas with personnel and assets,“ and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote on X on Jan. 24 that “Virginia stands with Texas.”
On Jan. 25, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wrote on X, “We support [Gov. Abbott] and the state of Texas.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, and Oklahoma Gov. Ken Stitt, along with Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) are among the public officials across the country who have expressed solidarity with Texas.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
