In defiance of a Supreme Court ruling on Monday (Jan. 23) that allowed federal authorities to remove razor wire installed by Texas along a stretch of the southern U.S. border, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will continue to install the razor wire because he believes it is an “effective deterrent,” against illegal immigration.
In a Jan. 24 post on X, Abbott wrote, “Texas’ razor wire is an effective deterrent against the illegal border crossings encouraged by Biden’s open border policies,” and that “We continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.”
On Jan. 22, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote to allow federal border agents to cut and remove barbed wire fencing that Texas had installed at the border, prompting sometimes extreme reactions from a number of political commentators and politicians.
Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy said that the state should tell the nation’s highest court to “go to hell” after the ruling was handed down.
Roy told Fox News on Tuesday that his state has “a duty under the Constitution” to “protect” citizens.
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“There is no exception to that,” he said, adding that, “And if the Supreme Court wants to ignore that truth, which a slim majority did, Texas still [has] the duty, Texas leaders still have the duty to defend their people.”
“It’s like, if someone’s breaking into your house, and the court says, ‘Oh, sorry. You can’t defend yourself.’ What do you tell the court? You tell the court to go to hell, you defend yourself, and then figure it out later,” Roy explained.
Also in conversation with Fox News, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said the ruling made him “angry” and that the “incredible progress” made to secure the southern border is being “deliberately” and “systematically dismantled” by the ruling.
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‘Where are the men of Texas?’
On Jan. 22, independent journalist and former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson took to X with a rather strong stance on the matter: “So it’s unanimous: everyone in power, from the White House, to the hedge fund managers, to the Supreme Court of the United States has decided to destroy the country by allowing it to be invaded. That leaves the population to defend itself.”
“Where are the men of Texas? Why aren’t they protecting their state and the nation?”
Carlson’s post received over 177,000 likes, was viewed more than 11.9 million times and attracted over 14,000 comments.
On Jan. 23, Abbott again took to X posting that he will not back down on the matter.
“The Texas National Guard continues to hold the line in Eagle Pass. Texas will not back down from our efforts to secure the border in Biden’s absence,” he wrote.
Elon Musk, the rocket and EV mogul who owns X, took notice and responded with a single word: “Good.”
In a statement to Fox News, the Border Patrol Union said, “The Supreme Court’s decision today is going to undoubtedly encourage more illegal immigration. Unfortunately, this means Border Patrol agents are going to be tied up dealing with give ups rather than going after the criminal elements that constantly cross our borders illegally.”
“The administration no doubt will say this is a win for border security, but if they sought rank and file input, they would be told this will do the exact opposite. Agents support what Texas was trying to accomplish in the absence of true border security policies from this administration,” the statement added.
‘Right to self defense’
On Jan. 24, Abbott dug in his heels and published a statement on X concerning his states “constitutional right to self-defense.”
“The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States,” he wrote, adding that, “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.”
He then accused Biden personally of ignoring “Texas’s demand that he (Biden) perform his constitutional duties.”
Abbott blasted the president, alleging that Biden “violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress,” and instead of prosecuting immigrants for breaking the law has chosen to sue the state of Texas for “taking action to secure the border.”
He also alleges that Biden has instructed his agencies “to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of enticed illegal immigrants.”
According to Abbott, in the three years since the border crisis erupted, upwards of six million illegal migrants have entered the U.S. through the southern border, noting that this number is “more than the population of 33 different States in this country.”
