Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vows to deploy more razor wire, National Guard troops at border

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott turned up the rhetoric in his immigration standoff with the Biden White House over the weekend, vowing to deploy more razor wire and armed personnel along the southern border.

“More National Guard & razor wire barrier are coming to the Texas border,” Abbott wrote Sunday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “We’re redoubling our efforts to expand the areas where we are denying illegal entry into Texas.”

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol can cut through razor wire strung along the Rio Grande as part of Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border crackdown, Operation Lone Star.

Federal officials argued that Border Patrol agents sometimes need to cut through the wire to rescue migrants. What’s more, they maintained that years of court precedent establishes shows immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, not that of states.

Abbott has since said he’ll ignore high court’s ruling — a move observers characterized as a political stunt to bolster his support with the Republican base.

In an open letter to the Biden administration, Abbott tried to justify his defiance by labeling the current surge in border crossings an “invasion.” The governor also evoked the Confederate theory of secession.

Abbott’s tweet came less than a day after presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed at a South Carolina rally that he’ll carry out mass deportations if elected.

“On day one, I will terminate every open border of the Biden administration, and we will begin the largest domestic deportation in American history,” Trump said.

Specifically, Trump wants to mobilize multiple federal agencies along with state and local law enforcement to deport millions of undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for fewer than two years, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

Right-wing bloggers busted during militia border tour

Celeste April Sparks and Jerry J. Pena-Ahuyon, both from the San Antonio area, were picked up after authorities found a ‘white powdery substance,’ marijuana and THC edibles.

FBI arrests man allegedly planning to shoot, kill migrants in Eagle Pass, Texas

Word of the arrest comes mere days after Texas Democrats and extremism experts warned that Gov. Greg Abbott’s invasion rhetoric could incite violence.

South Texas faith leaders decry presence of anti-immigrant caravan in Eagle Pass

Counterprotest organizers hoped to shine a light on the dangers of Christian nationalism and its dangerous agenda.

Eagle Pass residents say right-wing convoy, not migrants, making border town unsafe

At least one person tied to the convoy was arrested, and an immigrant processing center was evacuated following threats, Democratic lawmakers said.

Did an Operation Lone Star contractor fly Tennessee’s governor to Eagle Pass?

Flight records indicate one of the governors at a Texas press event may have flown there on a private jet owned by a major border contractor, whose CEO is also an Abbott donor.

Federal Judge strikes down ‘Show Me Your Papers Law,’ blasts Texas Gov. Abbott’s ‘invasion’ legal theory

Set to take effect on March 5, S.B. 4 would allow state authorities to arrest anyone suspected of illegal entry.

This article appears in Feb 7-20, 2024.