Gov. Abbott Is Right: Texas Has The Right To Defend Itself And Secure Its Border
States have a fundamental right of self-defense that transcends the authority of the president and the Supreme Court.States have a fundamental right of self-defense that transcends the authority of the president and the Supreme Court.Democrats Talk About Illegal Immigrants The Same Way They Used To Talk About Slaves
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The Department of Justice sued Texas and its Republican governor Monday over their attempt to do what the Biden administration appears unwilling to do: end the flood of illegal aliens into the United States by any and all practical means.
The Biden DOJ claims the marine floating barriers state officials have installed in the Rio Grande are unauthorized and in violation of federal law.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has indicated he's willing to take this fight to the Supreme Court, telling President Joe Biden in a letter Monday, "Texas will see you in court, Mr. President."
What's the background?
TheBlaze reported in early June that as part of Operation Lone Star, Texas had committed to installing marine floating barriers in the Rio Grande to discourage migrants from fording the river and entering the homeland.
The 1,000-foot barrier is made up of interconnected inflatable sphere buoys four feet wide that can be shifted and extended. When grabbed, the buoys spin, thereby preventing individuals from climbing over.
Abbott indicated in a statement that the Texas Department of Public Safety oversaw the installation in Eagle Pass, starting July 7.
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According to Texas DPS director Steve McCraw, the new floating barrier cost the state $1 million.
Eagle Pass was selected because it is reportedly a heavily trafficked entryway for illegal aliens.
U.S Customs and Border Protection indicated that 144,571 illegal aliens crossed the southern border into the U.S. last month alone. So far this fiscal year, well over 1.7 million have done likewise.
Keeping the border open
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim with the DOJ's environment and natural resources division filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The suit claims that the barrier obstructs navigable American waters in violation of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and that such structures placed in the Rio Grande require approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which Texas is said never to have received.
The DOJ wants Texas officials to remove the barrier at the state's expense.
"We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. "This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns. Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy."
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas claimed that "laws and policies in place – both domestic and international ... cannot be ignored."
Texas responds
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott refuses to comply with the Biden administration's demands and selective application of federal law.
Abbott, who contends that the barrier may already have repelled "tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands" of people illegally crossing the border, told Biden in his Monday letter that by installing the marine wall, he had asserted Texas' "sovereign interest in protecting [her] borders."
Further, the governor noted that he was within his rights, under both the state's and the U.S. constitutions, to secure the border through the use of floating marine barriers in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass.
Contrary to the DOJ's claim that Texas' floating barriers violate Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, Abbott noted that in the same statute, "Congress decreed that 'it shall not be lawful to build . . . any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir, breakwater, bulkhead, jetty or other structures in any . . . water of the United States.' 33 U.S.C. § 403. To state the obvious, that statute does not describe any action by the State of Texas."
Abbott reiterated an earlier accusation he directed at the Democratic president: "All of this is happening because you have violated your constitutional obligation to defend the States against invasion through faithful execution of federal laws."
The Republican governor also suggested that the DOJ's humanitarian concerns should be directed to Biden, whose "open-border policies encourage migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the water, instead of safely and legally at a port of entry. Nobody drowns on a bridge," adding that illegal aliens were drowning in the Rio Grande River long before Texas attempted to shore up its territorial sovereignty.
"If you truly care about human life, you must begin enforcing federal immigration laws. By doing so, you can help me stop migrants from wagering their lives in the waters of the Rio Grande River," wrote Abbott. "You can also help me save Texans, and indeed all Americans, from deadly drugs like fentanyl, cartel violence, and the horrors of human trafficking."
Politico reported that Vice President Kamala Harris, who was once tasked to do something about the border crisis, blasted Abbott Monday, suggesting his efforts to bolster American territorial sovereignty were "inhumane, outrageous and un-American."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "Instead of coming to the table and trying to figure out a way to work together, [Abbott] continues to do this really cruel, unjust, inhumane ways of moving forward with a system that has been broken for decades."
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Abbott hands Biden letter calling his 'photo-op' border visit '$20 billion too little and two years too late'
Millions of illegal aliens have beat President Joe Biden to the U.S.-Mexico border, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) won't let him forget it.
On his way to Mexico City to meet with Mexican and Canadian leaders for the North American Leaders' Summit, Biden stopped off in El Paso — his first visit to the beleaguered southern border since taking office.
Abbott was waiting on the tarmac for the president with a strongly-worded letter in hand.
The letter made clear that Biden's "visit to our southern border with Mexico today is $20 billion too little and two years too late."
Predictably 'sanitized'
During his stopover in El Paso, Biden managed to avoid meeting or interacting with any one of the millions of illegal aliens who have poured over the border during his time in office.
Congresswoman Mayra Flores (R-Texas) shared images on Twitter intimating that the consequences of Biden's actions had been hidden from sight:
\u201cThis is El Paso before Biden's visit and after his announcement he was coming to El Paso. We needed him to see what his policies have done to our Border cities and South Texas is still waiting for his Border visit.\n\nPhotos: Fit Fam El Paso\u201d— Mayra Flores (@Mayra Flores) 1673210740
The New York Post reported that authorities in the Democrat-run city had covertly torn down illegal alien encampments and hidden migrants from view.
The Border Patrol Union tweeted, "El Paso being cleaned up as if nothing unusual ever happened there. Just in time for Biden's 'visit to the border'. We suggest just landing in Des Moines, Iowa and telling him it's El Paso. He'll never know the difference."
A senior Biden administration official suggested to CNN that this was merely "coincidental."
Abbott, however, predicted this "coincidence" in the letter he handed to the president.
The letter noted that Biden's visit "avoids the sites where mass illegal immigration occurs and sidesteps the thousands of angry Texas property owners whose lives have been destroyed by your border politics."
"Even the city you visit has been sanitized of the migrant camps which had overrun downtown El Paso because your Administration wants to shield you from the chaos that Texans experience on a daily basis ... the direct result of your failure to enforce the immigration laws that Congress enacted," wrote Abbott.
The Democratic El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser, allegedly instructed by the White House not to declare an emergency over the border crisis, did so in last month after his city was overwhelmed by illegal aliens.
Leeser noted that neither asylum-seekers nor the El Paso community were safe.
Nearly 500,000 illegal aliens had already been encountered at the border by November this fiscal year. 2.37 million criminal noncitizens poured over the southern border last year and millions more stole over in 2021.
Abbott underscored in his letter to Biden that "under President Trump, the federal government achieved historically low levels of illegal immigration. Under your watch, by contrast, America is suffering the worst illegal immigration in the history of our country. Your open-border policies have emboldened the cartels, who grow wealthy by trafficking deadly fentanyl and even human beings."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl — frequently made with Chinese precursor chemicals and trafficked by Mexican cartels — is the leading killer of American adults ages 18-45.
A job to do
Abbott further accused Biden of failing to "defend the States against invasion through faithful execution of federal laws," and told him, once finished with his "photo-ops in a carefully stage-managed version of El Paso," that he has a job to do.
The Texas governor outlined five policy initiatives Biden should take on:
- "Comply with the many statutes mandating that various categories of aliens 'shall' be detained, and end the practice of unlawfully paroling aliens en masse";
- "stop sandbagging the implementation of the Remain-in-Mexico policy andTitle 42 expulsions, and fully enforce those measures as the federal courts have orderedyou to do";
- "aggressively prosecute illegal entry between ports of entry, and allow ICE to remove illegal immigrants in accordance with existing federal laws";
- "resume construction of the border wall in the State of Texas, using the billions of dollars Congress has appropriated for that purpose"; and
- "designate the Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations."
Axios characterized Biden's stopover in El Paso as an effort, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, to showcase a modicum of interest in law enforcement and to take "a possible Democratic vulnerability head-on."
Ahead of the visit, Abbott said it was nothing more than "a photo op and a game of pretend."
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) wrote, "As soon as he took office, President Biden stopped enforcing America’s immigration laws, rolled back effective border policies, & offered the world a clear incentive to illegally enter the US. His overdue visit to the border is solely a poor attempt to score political points."
Gov. Greg Abbott declares an 'invasion' at the southern border
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) declared an "invasion" at the southern border on Tuesday and indicated that he would be taking a series of "unprecedented measures ... to keep our state & country safe."
What are the details?
On Monday, Abbott wrote a letter to county judges along the Texas-Mexico border, claiming, "President Biden has abandoned his responsibility to enforce immigration laws, and Congress has refused to hold the President accountable and has abandoned its own responsibility to use the immigration power given to it in Article I, § 8 of the U.S. Constitution."
The Republican governor invoked Article 4, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution, which states that the governor "shall have power to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions."
Accordingly, Abbott stated that he would use his constitutional authority, as well as other authorization and executive orders, to:
- "Deploy the National Guard to safeguard our border & to repel & turn back immigrants trying to cross the border illegally";
- "Deploy the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to arrest & return the border immigrants who crossed illegally & deploy DPS to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal activity";
- "Build a border wall in multiple counties on the border";
- "Deploy gun boats to secure the border";
- "Designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations";
- "Enter into a compact with other states to secure the border";
- "Enter into agreements with foreign powers to enhance border security"; and
- "Provide resources for border counties to increase their efforts to respond to the border invasion."
On Tuesday, Abbott announced via social media that he had "invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion."
This announcement came just hours after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the House Committee on Homeland Security that the border was secure.
Fox News reported that FBI Director Christopher Wray painted a different picture of the situation at the border than had Mayorkas, saying on Tuesday: "What I would say is that we see significant criminal threats coming from south of the border — whether it's guns, drugs, money, violence."
Hopkins County declared first
Abbott's public, statewide declaration of an invasion was both preceded and implored by citizens of Hopkins County, Texas.
KETK reported that the Hopkins County commissioners court approved the declaration of a local state of disaster in the county on Monday.
The declaration stated that the "health, safety and welfare of Hopkins County residents are under an imminent threat of disaster from the unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug smuggling coming across the U.S. border from Mexico."
The Hopkins County declaration said the "ongoing immigration crisis on the Texas border is not acceptable and has resulted in a security threat and humanitarian disaster with overwhelming consequences to the residents of Hopkins County."
Over 2.76 million illegal aliens stole over the southern border into the United States during fiscal year 2022.
So far this year, there have been 1,142 criminal noncitizens convicted of assault; 1,614 convicted of driving under the influence; 62 convicted of homicide; 365 convicted of sexual offenses; and thousands more convicted of other crimes.
The Hopkins County declaration requested that Abbott, "as Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of the State, declare the existence of an invasion on its border with Mexico and take necessary actions to preserve and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Texas."
Abbott did just that.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott increases reward amount up to $5,000 for reporting criminal stash houses
In a Wednesday press release, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his office announced an increase in the reward amount for reporting information that leads to the identification of criminal stash houses.
The Public Safety Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety increased the reward amount to $5,000, the press release stated. The state hopes to crack down on stash houses that facilitate drug and human trafficking and illegal border crossings.
"As President Biden's dangerous open border policies continue to allow cartels and other criminal organizations to operate freely in our communities, it is more important than ever that Texans step up and report suspicious activity," said Governor Abbott.
The Texas governor launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021. The operation integrated the Texas Department of Public Safety with the Texas National Guard to monitor smugglers and cartels attempting to sneak drugs and people into the state. The mission deployed air, ground, marine, and tactical border security efforts to fill gaps the federal government left open.
A couple of weeks after announcing the launch of Operation Lone Star, Abbott expanded it to include anti-human trafficking efforts.
Abbott's office reported that since Operation Lone State launched, officers have identified 170 stash houses that led to the discovery of over 1,900 illegal immigrants.
The operation has resulted in nearly 300,000 migrant apprehensions and more than 18,700 criminal arrests, the governor's office reported in August.
The first tipster to take advantage of the new $5,000 reward resulted in the seizure of 19 kilograms of methamphetamine, 20 pounds of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, other illegal drugs, four weapons, and $6,000 in gold and silver.
Abbott stated, "DPS and local law enforcement partners are working around the clock to prevent transnational crimes from being committed in communities around the state. These stash houses contain people or drugs that may have otherwise made their way across Texas and the nation because of the dangerous gaps left by the Biden administration's refusal to secure the border. With the help of Texans across the state, we can bring criminals to justice, destroy their illegal enterprises, and keep our communities safe."
CNN's Jake Tapper tries to shame Dan Crenshaw over Texas illegal immigrant 'stunt' — it BACKFIRES gloriously
On “The Rubin Report” Wednesday, BlazeTV host Dave Rubin shared a clip of CNN’s Jake Tapper asking Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw if Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to bus "nearly a thousand undocumented migrants" from the border in Texas to New York City will backfire. Instead, it’s Tapper’s question that backfired when Crenshaw pointed out the hypocrisy of the Democrats who are complaining about the impact of a few thousand migrants in their cities, while the number of undocumented migrants crossing into Texas illegally exceeds that number every day. He also pointed out that the border crisis is unfair to law-abiding immigrants and asylum-seekers who are trying to come to the United States legally.
"There's an immigration researcher at Syracuse who said that Abbott is doing these migrants, these undocumented individuals, a favor and 'practically ensuring that these migrants will be allowed to stay in the country because immigration judges in New York tend to be more lenient than immigration judges in Texas.' What do you make of this stunt, this move, whatever you want to call it by Abbott?" Tapper asked Crenshaw.
"He's sending a message," Crenshaw said of Abbott. "There's no secret there, right? This isn't a policy move. This is a move of desperation to get someone to pay attention to what we're dealing with in Texas ... which is why I support it."
Crenshaw argued that everyone who is crossing our border has the same likelihood of staying in the country, whether they are bused to New York or not.
"There's been almost two million ... apprehensions just this year. That's an unprecedented number and a huge amount of those will stay in the country because the backlogs in our system are so severe that it's going to happen anyway. And when we're talking about the New York and D.C. busing, we're talking about a few thousand immigrants. That's what we deal with on a daily basis in south Texas," Crenshaw stated.
"What [Abbott] is doing, I think, is out of desperation, and it's highly necessary because somebody has to solve this problem. This is an infringement on our sovereignty. It's an infringement on our rule of law," he added. "And you know what? It's unfair and it's immoral to the millions upon millions of good, law-abiding immigrants or asylum-seekers around the world that have no chance of getting into our system because of the backlog that people are creating because they're geographically closer to the United States and they can just walk across. It's not fair."
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