XPost: tx.politics, misc.immigration.usa, alt.politics.usa.republican   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns, talk.politics.misc   
   From: remailer@domain.invalid   
      
   Things on the southern border are bad, and they are getting worse.   
   The Biden administration is enabling this, and at least one border-   
   state governor has had enough. On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg   
   Abbott issued a statement putting the Biden administration on notice   
   over illegal immigration.   
      
   https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GEoV81DWwAA85zy?format=jpg&name=large   
      
   Nobody with the sense of a stuffed armadillo can deny that the Biden   
   administration's border policies have been a calamity. A few points   
   in Governor Abbott's statement, though, merit some serious   
   consideration, not just in light of the immigration problem but in   
   the sense that there is a constitutional crisis in the offing. The   
   governor writes:   
      
   The federal government has broken the compact between the United   
   States and the States. The Executive Branch of the United States has   
   a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States,   
   including immigration laws on the books right now. President Biden   
   has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them. The   
   result is that he has smashed records for illegal immigration.   
      
   Despite having been put on notice in a series of letters - one of   
   which I delivered to him by hand - President Biden has ignored   
   Texas's demand that he perform his constitutional duties.   
      
   Note the language here; the governor is striking a defiant tone, not   
   least of which is his deliberate use of the term "illegal   
   immigration" rather than the squishy "migrants" or "undocumented   
   immigrants." It looks like Governor Abbott has had enough. He has a   
   lot of company.   
      
   What's more, Governor Abbott is citing the Constitution to back up   
   his claim:   
      
   The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties   
   imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3,   
   which reserves to this State the right of self-defense. For these   
   reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10,   
   Clause 3 to invoke Texas's constitutional authority to defend and   
   protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and   
   supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The Texas National   
   Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas   
   personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to   
   secure the Texas border.   
      
   In the Constitution, Article I, § 10, Clause 3 states:   
      
   No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of   
   Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into   
   any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign   
   Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such   
   imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.   
      
   Governor Abbott is referring to the "unless actually invaded"   
   clause; he has declared an invasion and intends to continue using   
   whatever means Texas can muster to stop the endless influx of   
   illegal aliens. When one looks at the state of the southern border,   
   it's hard to deny the invasion part of his complaint.   
      
      
   This is very likely to provoke a constitutional crisis, the likes of   
   which have not been seen since 1860. The Supreme Court has   
   inexplicably ruled that Texas must stand aside and allow federal   
   forces to remove the barriers Texas has put in place to try to stem   
   the flood; Texas is showing every sign of channeling Andrew Jackson   
   and stating, "The Court has made their decision, now let them   
   enforce it."   
      
   Think about the implications of this. What happens if there is a   
   confrontation between Texas and federal forces? What happens if   
   shots are exchanged? What happens if someone on either side is   
   injured or killed? That would be, candidly, like unto a second Fort   
   Sumter.   
      
   Illegal immigration isn't just something that affects Texas or the   
   border states. It's a national issue. The Biden administration has   
   deliberately allowed over six million illegal aliens to invade U.S.   
   territory. In most cases, we have very little idea who any of the   
   people are who are coming in; we have no idea where they are going   
   or what they intend to do when they get there. One of them made a   
   very direct threat and was still allowed in.   
      
   This, incidentally, will be the issue in this fall's presidential   
   election.   
      
   Texas is stepping in where Washington, D.C., has failed to act, and   
   they have a pretty clear constitutional avenue to justify their   
   actions. Other states may well join in. These are uncharted waters,   
   and the only thing we can know for certain is that neither side   
   seems willing to back down.   
      
   https://redstate.com/wardclark/2024/01/24/texas-governor-greg-   
   abbott-defiant-texas-has-constitutional-right-to-self-defense-   
   n2169158   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)