More than half of American Governors have sided with Texas' Greg Abbott in his furious spat with 46th President Joe Biden over who should have the authority to apprehend migrants crossing the US-Mexican border.
Abbott, who first became Texas' Governor in 2015, reasserted the Lone Star State’s right to protect its own border after the Supreme Court ruled the Biden administration could take down razor wires installed to half the number of migrants crossing into the US.
Governors from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming all sided with the Lone Star State Republican.
The group, which includes every single Grand Old Party Governor excluding Vermont’s anti-Donald Trump Governor Phil Scott, expressed support for “Texas' constitutional right to self-defence”.
Greg Abbott has disagreed with Joe Biden about the crisis on the US-Mexico border
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Georgia’s Brian Kemp, Nevada’s Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu and Virginia’s Glen Youngkin represent states Biden won in 2020.
High-ranking Republicans Ron DeSantis and Doug Burgum, who both pulled out of the 2024 GOP primary race, were also included in the list.
They wrote: “President Biden and his Administration have left Americans and our country completely vulnerable to unprecedented illegal immigration pouring across the Southern border.”
It continued: “Instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden Administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country.
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An image of the Texas National Guard on the US-Mexico borderREUTERS“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border.
“We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.”
Texas Border Czar Mike Banks claimed on Wednesday that the state could install razor wires on their private property free of charge.
Abbott also argued Washington has failed at its duty to enforce laws and that individual states should have every right to step in to protect their borders.
Ron DeSantis campaigning in New Hampshire before dropping outREUTERS Slamming Biden, the Republican Governor said: “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.
“President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.”
The Supreme Court ruled five to four with the Department of Homeland Security.
However, Lone Star State officials said the ruling only narrowly applies to the wire and does not settle the escalating standoff over whether the state or federal government has the authority to secure the border in the hot spot of Eagle Pass.
More than 22,000 asylum-seeking migrants crossed the river separating the US from Mexico and into Shelby Park in the week before Christmas.