Newly re-elected Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared that his state is under “invasion” by undocumented immigrants.
On Tuesday morning (November 15), Abbott invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and sent a letter to county judges along the Texas-Mexico border stating that he will “fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion.”
Abbott continued: “I’m using that constitutional authority and other authorization and executive order to keep our state and country safe.”
According to Abbott, invoking the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions means that he can do several things to keep the border secure. This includes deploying the Texas Department of Public Safety to the border to arrest undocumented immigrants who cross the border and provide resources to counties to increase their efforts in border security.
Abbott also said he can build a border wall, deploy gunboats to the border, designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and get help from other states and foreign powers to enhance border security.
“In January 2023 when the next Congress is sworn in, we must remind our representatives in Washington that securing the border is the federal government’s responsibility,” Abbott’s letter reads. “Texas has done more than its fair share for far too long. The time has come for the federal government to do its job.”
Abbott’s critics had a lot to say about his controversial decision.
Earlier this year, Abbott provided more political theater when he started busing undocumented immigrants out of Texas to places like New York City and Washington D.C. We’re guessing this is his encore performance, which still offers no real solutions for the country’s broken immigration system.