The dispute between Texas and the federal government over control of the US-Mexico border intensified further after the state’s governor, Greg Abbott, announced that he would defy the Biden administration and the US Supreme Court by ordering the installation of even more barbed wire to prevent of immigration.
On Monday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of the federal government’s authority to remove the controversial wire installed along the Texas border at the behest of Abbott.
Nothing prevents me from ordering the National Guard to put up additional barbed wire, said the tough Texan Governor
The court ruled that immigration matters fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, not individual states. But Abbott has repeatedly invoked a “loophole” in the US and Texas constitutions, labeling immigrants a “public foreign enemy,” that gives him the right to pursue policies in the name of border security.
Artificial tension in an attempt to rally the American South
Governor Abbott stated that “the federal government has broken the agreement between the United States and the states. The executive branch of the United States that has a constitutional duty to enforce these laws has violated them,” he said. President Biden issued an ultimatum that expires on January 27 to comply with the US Supreme Court’s ruling and transfer border patrols and control of the National Guard to the federal government (ICE).
Despite the federal court justices’ vote, Abbott, a far-right Republican with an appeal to the alt-right dialectic, is stepping up his plans to try to fence off parts of the US border with Mexico. Federal agents received further confirmation this week in the Supreme Court that they can remove the barbed wire, as enforcement of immigration legislation falls under federal jurisdiction.
But Abbott said there is nothing stopping him from ordering the Texas National Guard to continue installing more barbed wire. The National Guard is ultimately part of the United States military, overseen by the President of the United States as commander-in-chief, but except in specific cases where the president expressly assumes federal control, the National Guard in each state receives orders from its state governor.