A Republican Texas Railroad Commission candidate known for his frequent xenophobic and racially charged comments is egging on a constitutional crisis by urging Texas officials to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court’s Tuesday ruling upholding birthright citizenship.
In a Tuesday rant on social media platform X, former Tarrant County GOP chair Bo French called the high court’s 6-3 ruling in defense of the 14th Amendment “traitorous,” arguing that “Texas is sovereign” and shouldn’t recognize citizens born to parents of other nationalities as U.S. citizens.
“Any third-worlder who happens to be here for the World Cup can now spit out a baby, and [Justice] Amy Coney Barrett believes that soccer fan is magically ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States,” tweeted. “Insane.”
French’s meltdown came after the U.S. Supreme Court defied President Donald Trump’s wishes in ruling that all babies born on U.S. soil, whether their parents are here legally or not, have a right to U.S. citizenship, as enshrined in the 14th Amendment.
Anti-immigration conservatives sometimes refer to phenomenon as “anchor babies.” Some spi the narrative that pregnant women intentionally travel to the U.S. so their children will be entitled to U.S. citizenship.
In reality, U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel often look for signs of so-called “birth tourism” and have even sent pregnant women back to their home countries if their reason for visiting the U.S. is deemed suspicious, as reported in the Netflix documentary Border Security: America’s Front Line.
In keeping with his history of inflammatory, rhetoric French went so far as to suggest Texas ignore the Supreme Court’s decision.
The high court relies on the White House and voluntary compliance to enforce its rulings. The last time states tried to ignore a ruling was in the ’50s following Brown v. Board of Education, which desegregated public schools.
When a handful of Southern states ignored that ruling, Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy were forced to send federal and National Guard troops to enforce compliance.
Even so, even if French wins in November, it’s unlikely that he would have the power or influence to carry out such an agenda since the Texas Railroad Commission, despite the name, is charged with regulating the state’s vast oil and gas industry.
But, that hasn’t stopped French from using race-baiting political rhetoric to drum up support from GOP voters.
Prior to running for Railroad Commissioner, French grabbed headlines for posting a poll on X asking if his followers thought Muslims or Jews were a “bigger threat to America.” That poll led fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, to demand French’s resignation as Tarrant County GOP chairman.
During his most recent campaign, French has also called for the deportation of Native Americans and a ban Muslims from owning property in Texas. I also ignited a firestorm of controversy by referring to Black people as “chimps.”
French is running against Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal for Railroad Commissioner.
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