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The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. (Article 4, Section 4, United States Constitution)
Texas doesn’t feel like the federal government is holding up its end of the bargain, as described in the Constitution.
The southern border has been a mess for decades, with government falsely officials insisting they can’t do anything about it.
Illegal immigration into Mexico has always been treated as a crime. If you are not a citizen of Mexico and are caught there without the proper identification, you will be thrown into a Mexican prison. When Trump became president, he worked with the Mexican government to control the flow of migrants coming up from Central America. And it worked. Attempted border crossings slowed down.
From January 2017 through January 2021, through Trump’s entire presidency, Border Patrol encountered 2,112,458 people entering the United States illegally through the southern border.
However, the flow changed with the administration. Only partway through Biden’s presidency, as of October 2023, there had been over 9 million illegal entries into the U.S. Things have only increased since then. December alone saw approximately 300,000 illegal border crossings.
Texas has had enough.
The open border policy has been a disaster for low-income American communities, where resources were already stretched thin. Texas, with its huge border, finally had enough.
On January 10, the Texas National Guard seized Shelby Park near Eagle Pass, Texas. The Biden Administration had ordered Border Patrol agents to use the 47-acre park for processing migrants. When Texas National Guardsmen seized the park, they began erecting concertina wire as a deterrent. The Biden Administration ordered Border Patrol to continue using the park anyway, and filed an emergency brief with the Supreme Court, who voted 5-4 to allow federal agents to resume cutting Texas’ concertina wire. (source)
This could have been a recipe for conflict between federal Border Patrol agents and Texas Guardsmen. However, the Border Patrol has stated that they have no plans to dismantle infrastructure put in place by the Texas National Guard. A senior Border Patrol official told Fox News that the relationship between the Texas National Guard and Border Patrol was strong. They respected each other’s jobs, and both intended to provide a secure border.
Two weeks after taking control of Shelby Park, on January 24, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued the following statement:
The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including immigration laws on the books right now. . . The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, Section 4 has triggered Article I, Section 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense. For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’ constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.
The next day, January 25, 25 Republican governors released a joint statement of solidarity with Greg Abbott, saying that he is acting in the best interests of the entire nation. Some of these governors have sent National Guard members from their own states to support Texas.
The Border Patrol and Texas are cooperating.
In a January 26 X (Twitter) post, the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing Border Patrol agents and staff, reiterated that they have no problems with Texas’ actions, and anyone spreading rumors of tension between the two groups is lying. They said that each group is under obligation to follow lawful orders, but that, “Unlawful orders, as determined by competent legal counsel and not what some outhouse lawyer behind a keyboard says, will not be followed.”
Rank-and file BP agents are not going to start arresting TX NG members for following their LAWFUL orders. That’s fake news.
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…
— Border Patrol Union – NBPC (@BPUnion) January 26, 2024
History students remember that the Civil War began when South Carolina troops took control of Fort Sumter. There has been some attempt in mainstream media to normalize the dialogue around another civil war. Look at the new movie coming out this spring. I believe it’s possible some malicious actors had been hoping Border Patrol and Texas National Guard would start fighting; instead, both groups are behaving professionally and in a mission-oriented manner. If this situation was intended as some kind of bait, they’re not taking it.
But the White House isn’t idly standing by.
On January 26, the White House announced it will “pause” LNG exports. Ostensibly this is being done “to save the climate,” but the effects of this ban would fall hardest on the LNG exporters, primarily located in Louisiana and Texas. They are punishing Texas economically.
And as if that wasn’t enough, a massive explosion and fire just occurred on January 30 at a Texas chicken facility with twelve million birds, causing another economic hit to the state.
A few hours ago, a fire took place at the Feather Crest Farm Chicken Plant in Bryan, Texas.
Extent of damage unknown and fires still being fought.
The company that owns the farm has been in business since 1968, their Farm had 12 million hens and the ability to produce over 300… pic.twitter.com/QfO7xdWAPa— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) January 30, 2024
As of right now, no official causes for the catastrophe have been listed, but this farm has been in operation since 1968. Terrible timing, isn’t it?
And now there’s a trucker convoy.
With emotions running high throughout the country, a new truckers’ convoy, the Take Our Borders Back Convoy, began rallying on January 29 to head to border towns in Texas, Arizona, and California. They are calling on all “Americans, Veterans, Law enforcement, Elected Officials, Truckers, Bikers, Business Owners, and Ranchers to join us.” They want to show their support for Texas’ actions through a series of rallies.
It’s worth noting, however, that Texas sheriffs are begging people not to come. They say that these protests are logistical nightmares in rural communities with no more than two-lane roads. They are trying to create some semblance of normalcy and order for the small border towns. Giant rallies tend to enable chaos. Look at January 6.
Some folks think Texans are just racist.
Naturally, opponents of Texas’ actions are crying racism. MSNBC’s Joy Reid said that Texas’ actions reminded her of segregation in the 1960s.
None of this has to do with racism. It has to do with cities being unable to provide services for their own citizens. Yes, migrants are human beings with rights, but citizens have rights, too, and the first obligation a nation has is to its own citizens, not everyone else’s. When public facilities like schools and hospitals can no longer be used by the people paying for them with their various taxes and fees, it is time to say, “Enough. We can’t do this anymore.”
We should be able to say this without being accused of hatred, fear, or malice. Leaving the border open is not the “kind” option. The trip is dangerous. Migrants leave themselves open to exploitation by a variety of criminal elements, and many of these people would probably be better off staying in their own countries.
The kindest option is the honest one. The US is not physically capable of accepting everyone unhappy in their own country. This needs to be broadcast loud and clear around the world. Upon interviewing migrants post-arrest, the vast majority had gotten the impression that, since there was a new president now, the laws were changed, the border was open, and it was okay to go through.
Who put that idea out there? Who profits from this mess? Fixing this false impression and finding ways to impose consequences on the traffickers profiting from this lie would go a long way toward solving the border crisis.
And we need to be honest about who is coming in.
While it’s easy to feel sorry for the families featured by mainstream groups drumming up sympathy for an open border, we need widespread recognition that many of the migrants are not desperate mothers with crying babies but military-age men from all over the world.
Yes, there are some desperate families at the border. But with the numbers arriving, there are bound to be criminals and bad actors in there as well. And when people come across the numbers that they have, law enforcement simply does not have the personnel to sort out legitimate asylum claims from the criminal elements.
I don’t hate anybody. I think a secure border, coupled with a coherent immigration policy, would be best both for Americans and for the potential immigrants who love this country enough to obey its laws. The Texas National Guard and Border Patrol deserve commendation for working together, and I sincerely hope more of the state governors take action to help in a professional, humane manner.
What are your thoughts?
Is the Biden administration trying to stir up animosity between the Texas Guard and Border Patrol? Did they cry “uncle” by leaving the razor wire in its place? Do you think Governor Abbott is doing the right thing? Where do you think this will end – civil war?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Marie Hawthorne
A lover of novels and cultivator of superb apple pie recipes, Marie spends her free time writing about the world around her.
