On Monday, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma signed onto a letter with more than two dozen state attorneys general urging President Joe Biden and the Department of Homeland Security to “either enforce our immigration laws and protect our southern border, or get out of the way so Texas can.”
Toma and Petersen join an Iowa and Utah-led letter, along with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The letter, signed by the attorneys general as well as Toma and Petersen highlighted the work by Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Paxton to hold the line while the Biden Administration actively incentivizes and encourages crisis-level illegal immigration, says Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I want to thank my colleagues from across the country for their support as Texas does the job that Biden refuses to do,” said Paxton. “The invasion, encouraged by Biden’s refusal to follow federal statutory law, is the biggest threat facing this country. Texas will continue doing everything in her power to close the border and protect America.”
“Texas has every right to defend itself from the unprecedented flow of illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and countless threats at our southern border because of President Biden’s willful refusal to protect this nation,” said Toma. “I stand with Governor Abbott and call on Governor Hobbs to follow his lead and invoke Arizona’s constitutional right to defend itself.”
“Arizona is overwhelmed from the same dangers brought on by this invasion as Texas. Biden is literally dismantling our nation as we know it, allowing known terrorists and criminals to enter through our southern border with no consequences,” said Petersen. “Since our Attorney General is not pushing back against the lawlessness Biden is promoting by working to destroy the border barriers Governor Abbott has built, the
Legislature must speak out and stand in solidarity to support our neighbors.”
Toma pointed out that since Biden took office, more than six million illegal aliens have crossed the southern border — roughly the population of Iowa and Utah combined.
On Wednesday, Texas Governor Abbott asserted that Texas has a constitutional right to defend and protect itself in light of the fact that the Biden administration will not secure the border.
“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,” Abbott argued. “President Biden has instructed his agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants. 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.”
25 Republican governors have come out in support of Abbott including: Governor Kay Ivey (AL), Governor Mike Dunleavy (AK), Governor Sarah Sanders (AR), Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), Governor Brian Kemp (GA), Governor Brad Little (ID), Governor Eric Holcomb (IN), Governor Kim Reynolds (IA), Governor Jeff Landry (LA), Governor Tate Reeves (MS), Governor Mike Parson (MO), Governor Greg Gianforte (MT), Governor Jim Pillen (NE), Governor Joe Lombardo (NV), Governor Chris Sununu (NH), Governor Doug Burgum (ND), Governor Mike DeWine (OH), Governor Kevin Stitt (OK), Governor Henry McMaster (SC), Governor Kristi Noem (SD), Governor Bill Lee (TN), Governor Spencer Cox (UT), Governor Glenn Youngkin (VA), Governor Jim Justice (WV), and Governor Mark Gordon (WY).