OPINION:
Politicians willing to take a stand on principle are a rare breed. Most shy away from true controversy for fear of incurring the wrath of the donor class and the media outlets that serve it. Not so Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is taking concrete steps to remedy President Biden’s dereliction of duty at our southern border.
The issue came to a head last Monday when the Supreme Court lifted an injunction that had blocked the Department of Homeland Security from messing with the physical barriers Texas had placed at an illegal border-crossing hotspot on the Rio Grande known as Eagle Pass.
Texas state police and National Guard forces have been using large shipping containers and razor wire to discourage unlawful entry into the state, but Mr. Biden’s solicitor general argued the state’s recent “escalation” of these measures is instead discouraging the efforts of the Border Patrol. This is true, because the administration has been misusing this agency not to keep foreign trespassers out, but to distribute them throughout the country.
On Wednesday, Mr. Abbott cited the federal government’s failure to comply with its Article I, Section 10, of the U.S. Constitution duty to “protect each [state] against invasion” to declare the federal government in violation of its compact with the states. That left him no option but to continue taking the measures necessary to protect his constituents.
Within a day, one-half of the nation’s governors — all Republicans — affirmed their intention to “stand with Texas.” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, for example, wrote on X: “Enough is enough. Our southern border is in crisis thanks to the Biden administration’s refusal to do their job.”
Even more important than supportive words is supportive action. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been dispatching personnel and resources to supplement border-securing efforts in the Lone Star state. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion,” said the former presidential contender, “it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did.”
As Mr. Abbott noted, none of his actions are out-of-bounds. The Founders expected occasional tussles between states and the central government. In Federalist 46, James Madison explained that an “unwarrantable measure of the federal government” could be met by a “refusal to co-operate with the officers of the Union; [and] the frowns of the executive magistracy of the State.”
Frowning is even happening in the executive mansions of the blue states. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, dispatched troops to her border in December, citing “federal inaction.” Eight other Democratic governors joined her in a Jan. 22 letter to Mr. Biden complaining of the “humanitarian crisis” created by the administration’s deliberate policy of flooding the nation with 6 million illegal migrants, which has strained state and city resources beyond the limit.
It remains to be seen whether the nation’s high court will intervene further in this showdown, but ultimately this is not a matter for the courts. Voters have the final say in November. They can continue the open-border policies of the current administration, or adopt the now-unified position of the GOP that would stop the invasion.
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