Border battle lines: Dems call on Biden to seize control of Texas National Guard, as GOP allies back Abbott
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As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to tout the state’s right to self-defend itself from a migrant invasion, some Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Biden to take control of the state’s National Guard.
Abbott issued a lengthy statement Wednesday, saying the federal government broke the compact between the U.S. and the individual states.
“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,” Abbott said. “President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.”
Abbott is fighting multiple legal battles with the Biden administration, which has threatened legal action over Texas’ seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass. Texas has also filed lawsuits against the administration, which cut razor wire set up by the state on the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from illegally crossing into Texas, as well as the establishment of buoys on the river.
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While Abbott issues statements about the Biden administration overstepping its authority, Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, is accusing the governor of taking a play out of former President Trump’s playbook.
“Greg Abbott has continued to use political stunts and inflammatory language to advance his own agenda, violating the Constitution and endangering both U.S. citizens and asylum seekers,” Casar posted on X. “Abbott is following the Donald Trump playbook: making immigration harder and more dangerous, so asylum seekers are pushed into the hands of cartels and the system remains broken.”
Casar continued with a string of posts, saying he agreed with Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, who on Tuesday tweeted Biden should seize control of the Texas National Guard.
The Supreme Court this week found in the administration’s favor when it granted an emergency appeal to allow agents to keep cutting border wire set up by Texas along the border. The state answered by publishing images of it strengthening physical barriers along Eagle Pass.
The administration has also sued over a recently-signed law that allows Texas state and local officials to arrest illegal immigrants. The administration has accused Texas of interfering with federal control over immigration and border security, and said it is putting both agents and migrants in danger.
“Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border,” Castro posted to X on Tuesday. “If Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, @POTUS needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now.”
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Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, who is running for governor in the state, also called out Abbott for “using the Texas Guard to defy a Supreme Court ruling.”
“When Gov. Orval Eugene Faubus did this in 1957, [President] Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas Guard to ensure compliance with the law,” O’Rourke tweeted. “Biden must follow this example of bold, decisive leadership to end this crisis before it gets worse.”
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Abbott is not alone, though, in his fight for his state’s right to bolster protection along the border between Mexico and Texas.
In fact, former Republican presidential candidate and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state will continue assisting Texas.
“If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis posted on X. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it. FL will keep assisting…”
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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, also a Republican, re-posted a video on X of the Texas National Guard marching.
“Oklahoma stands with Texas,” Stitt wrote.
Abbott made many arguments in his statement on Wednesday, which are unlikely to dissuade the administration, which has cited Supreme Court precedent for federal control over the immigration and border authority.
The administration also claims it is following immigration law, while pointing to numbers of removals since May that outpace all of FY 2019.
Instead, the administration says it needs additional funding from Congress and comprehensive immigration reform to correct what it claims is a “broken” system.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.