The situation on our southern border is untenable. Millions of migrants have been pouring into our country, bringing crime and drugs with them. The Biden Administration is facilitating this invasion and is likely engaged in child trafficking as they deliver underage migrants to places where they are being taken advantage of, either for slave labor or worse.
The State of Texas has been trying to stem the tide. Things came to a head when Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas National Guard to keep federal agents out of Eagle Pass, the most heavily trafficked area of the US/Mexico border. The federal government sought an injunction to allow federal agents in to Eagle Pass to cut the razor wire fencing that Texas had put up, and the Supreme Court agreed in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberals in saying that Texas had no right to keep federal agents off the border.
This is not the first time that a state has challenged the federal government regarding enforcing the border. In 2010, Arizona passed a law to crack down on illegal immigration within the state, but the federal government sued, citing the supremacy clause of the Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in Arizona v. United States that a state government could not enforce immigration law, even if the federal government was derelict in its own duty to do so.
Would Gov. Abbott back down? Or would he cross a metaphorical Rubicon and defend his people?
He answered the question today with a strong statement that might well go down in history:
As of this writing, nearly a dozen other state governors have issued statements in support of Abbott and Texas, including Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Ron DeSantis of Florida, and Greg Gianforte of Montana. Congressman Russ Fulcher posted a message of support on Facebook, but there has been nothing from Gov. Brad Little or Attorney General Raúl Labrador.
Update: On Thursday morning, Gov. Little posted a message of support on social media.
Some Democrats have called for the Biden Administration to nationalize the Texas Guard, similar to what President Dwight Eisenhower did when Arkansas refused to allow black students to attend white public schools.
While this is not necessarily a Fort Sumter moment, it is a welcome development. Conservatives have been begging our leaders to take a strong stand against an out-of-control federal government, and Texas is finally taking that stand. For more than a century, the balance of power that our Founders created has been tipped too far toward the federal government, leaving states as mere vassals of the imperial capital in DC. It will be a long road to reclaim the state sovereignty that our Founders intended, but we moved a little further in that direction today.
Head over to Substack for a spicy bonus note!
About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
