The US is on the brink as the states try to gain power and authority over the federal government, a situation reminiscent of the 19th century North-South Civil War.
The escalating border conflict between Texas and the US federal government is characterized as a dysfunction at the core of the American state. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has made it clear that he will not comply with the Biden administration’s order to allow federal Border Patrol agents access to the park, Shelby Park, on the Rio Grande.
Texas now takes it upon itself to stop immigrants from crossing in violation of federal law. The White House is doing everything it can to intervene in border security, said the US Border Patrol Agents Association, which expresses its support for the state of Texas.
Texas prepares for conflict
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he is prepared for a showdown with federal authorities over the border and aliens issue. “We are prepared, should this unlikely event occur, and we will continue to build barriers along the border,” Abbott said, when asked about the possibility of the US government taking over command of the Texas National Guard.
On Monday, January 22, 2024, the US Supreme Court
issued a temporary order allowing federal Border Patrol agents to remove barriers placed by Texas at the border. But Abbott argues that Texas has the constitutional authority to protect its borders because of the federal government’s failure to deal with the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
Earlier on Friday the 26th, the Border Patrol Association said its federal agents would not arrest members of the Texas National Guard for following their lawful orders. Federal Border Patrol agents “appreciate and respect” Texas’ actions, the statement said.
Oklahoma sends reinforcements to Texas
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that he is sending his state’s National Guard to help Texas with border control problems along the US-Mexico border.
Trump’s call and the rallying of Republican governors
The move comes after former President Donald Trump called on Thursday, January 25, 2024 for Republican-led states to come together to fight the problem of illegal immigration along the southern border, an issue on which Biden is failing miserably.
“We encourage all willing states to deploy their patrols in Texas to prevent illegals from entering and to turn them back across the border,” Trump said, citing an “invasion” of immigrants coming to the US.
Following Trump’s call for help, Republican governors from 25 states (half of the 50) pledged their support to Texas. “We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in using every tool and strategy, including wire fencing, to secure the border,” the Republican Governors Association said in a statement.
Texas ignores Biden administration orders
Texas officials have apparently chosen to ignore Supreme Court orders governing the conduct of the Texas National Guard, using highly inflammatory language to argue that the state is defending itself against an “invasion” of immigrants at the border.
“This is extremely dangerous,” Rogers-Wright said, adding that US President Joe Biden is taking a very charged approach to the issue. “We already have a dysfunctional Supreme Court,” Rogers-Wright said, a view shared by most Americans as voters’ favorable assessment of the institution has fallen to 41 percent. “It appears that the dysfunction of the American state is greater than we thought,” he added.
According to him, Biden shows a lack of leadership while Donald Trump with his unyielding attitude wins points. “Joe Biden is inflating the issue in a constituency where Democrats don’t have an electoral base anyway,” he added.
Texas is often considered one of the most independent states in the US, having previously existed as a self-governing republic from 1836 to 1846. Texan politicians occasionally raise the prospect of secession from the United States. Similar efforts are sometimes proposed in California, and the ex-husband of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was formerly a member of the local Alaska Independence Party.
There are separatist tendencies
Secession efforts in the US have never gained widespread support in modern times, but the issue resonates at a deep level, with states often challenging the mandates of the federal government.
“Biden needs to check it out, not just because of the humanitarian aspect of it. This is a constitutional crisis right in front of us right now,” said Rogers-Wright. “We haven’t really seen anything like this since 1830, when governors were just saying … ‘I don’t care what the federal government says.'”
Political polarization remains at an all-time high in the United States, a reality perhaps best exemplified by the controversy surrounding the riots at the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021. As controversy remains over the contested role of federal and state authorities in Texas observers fear tensions could turn violent, particularly if federal and state troops are forced to clash.
The decision of the US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday, January 22, 2024 by a narrow 5-4 majority that federal Border Patrol agents remove the razor wire fence that Texas authorities had erected at Abbott’s behest.
National Guard troops were deployed earlier to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas – a community along the Rio Grande River that has become a major hub for illegal immigration from Mexico and prevented Border Patrol agents from gaining access.
“National Guard units will continue to ‘protect our State’s sovereignty’ and ‘hold the line at Shelby Park to prevent illegal entry into the State of Texas,'” the Corps said in a statement. An estimated 300,000 people crossed illegally into the US from Mexico in December 2023, the highest number ever recorded.
On Abbott’s side are governors and the speaker of the House of Representatives
Utah Governor Spencer Cox is convinced that the border is an issue of national security and common sense, an “American issue.” House Speaker Mike Johnson said: “I stand with Governor Abbott. The House will do everything in its power to support him,” Johnson wrote on social media.
As a result, Republican states that make up half of the US territory swung in favor of Texas within days. Texas also believes that these illegal immigrants will gain the right to vote and may thus prevent Trump from winning the upcoming election. It’s worth noting that Democrats are in favor of legalizing all illegal immigrants since citizenship plus the right to vote equates to 22 million new voters. Almost all first-generation immigrants vote Democratic. It is recalled how not long ago the Pentagon tried to conduct a military operation against the cartels on the border with Mexico but the CIA blocked the military’s actions.
The economic and military potential of Texas
The rapidly escalating standoff between Texas and federal authorities is setting a dangerous precedent amid the deep divisions facing American society and its political establishment. In addition, Texas is one of the largest and most economically and militarily powerful states in the Union, with a population of nearly 30 million people and an annual GDP of approximately $2.4 trillion, making it the 8th largest economy in the world.
The Texas National Guard has as many as 23,000 soldiers in its ranks, including veterans of U.S. combat operations overseas, and has 117 bases across the state that have everything from small arms to MRAPs, Humvees, armored personnel carriers and tanks. The Texas Air National Guard consists of 4,400 personnel and has aircraft including C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, Blackhawk helicopters, MQ-9 Reaper drones, F-16 fighter jets and more.
