In a striking interview with Tucker Carlson, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared his state’s preparedness for a potential conflict with federal authorities. The bold assertion on Friday followed the recent Supreme Court ruling favoring the Biden administration’s decision to open the Texas-Mexico border.
“If the administration declares that it plans to federalize the National Guard of the state of Texas, your National Guard, what will be your response?” Carlson asked.
“Well, first, I’ll be shocked,” Abbott said. “That would be a bonehead and move on his part, a total disaster. For one, as you might imagine, we are prepared in the event that that unlikely event does occur to make sure that we will be able to continue exactly what we’ve been doing over the past month.”
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Abbott also confirmed the presence of armed state employees on the border, in addition to the National Guard from other states. “We do have other armed state employees on the border as we speak right this minute.”
The Texas Governor revealed his unfruitful attempts to communicate with Joe Biden, saying, “I met him on a tarmac in El Paso and talked to him directly about what was going on. I handed him altogether eight different letters, he has refused to ever respond.”
Nearly all Republican governors in the US have expressed their support for Governor Abbott in his contentious dispute with the federal government regarding border management. A statement, published on Thursday on the website of the Republican Governors Association, condemned the policies of the Biden Administration and affirmed that Texas possesses the constitutional authority to protect its borders.
Looking forward, Abbott believes that “this will all come to an end on January the 20th of next year.”
“I believe a new president will be sworn in, a president who will actually enforce the immigration laws of the entire country, not just the Texas border, but New Mexico and Arizona and California and the Canadian border.”
Abbott has been especially vocal, mobilizing the Texas National Guard and suing the federal government for interfering with state-level border security measures. The move has drawn criticism from Democratic leaders, who accuse Abbott of political grandstanding and endangering both U.S. citizens and asylum seekers.
On Wednesday Abbott issued the forceful statement asserting Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense. “President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them, leading to record numbers in illegal immigration,” Abbott stated. He cited over 6 million illegal border crossings in the past three years, which he said has caused unprecedented harm nationwide.
Abbott’s announcement followed actions by the Texas National Guard to install razor wire along parts of the Texas-Mexico border, defying the Supreme Court ruling. Despite the court siding with the Biden administration in removing the wire, Texas forces proceeded with the installation in Eagle Pass.
Abbott wrote on Wednesday. “Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border.”
“James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the other visionaries who wrote the U.S. Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats like cartels smuggling millions of illegal immigrants across the border,” the Texas Governor continued.
The razor wire installation is part of Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, initiated to curb illegal immigration. The operation also included busing migrants to Democratic-led cities and arresting migrants on trespassing charges. The Biden administration has opposed these measures, arguing that they hinder federal agents and contravene federal laws.
The Supreme Court’s decision against the wire installation was a narrow 5-4 ruling in favor of the President.
