Governor Kay Ivey and 24 other Republican governors announced on Thursday their support for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's "constitutional right" to deter illegal immigration at the Southern border.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday the Biden administration could use federal immigration agents to remove razor wire placed by Texas law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal immigration.
In response, Abbott said on Wednesday the state would continue to place razor wire and that the federal government had "broken the compact between the United States and the States."
Twenty-five Republican governors said they supported Abbott's decision on Thursday.
"President Biden and his Administration have left Americans and our country completely vulnerable to unprecedented illegal immigration pouring across the Southern border. Instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden Administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country," Ivey and other Republican governors said on Thursday in a joint statement.
"We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border. We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally."
The statement continued, "The authors of the U.S. Constitution made clear that in times like this, states have a right of self-defense, under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation."
Former President Donald Trump — the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee — encouraged "all willing states to deploy their guards to prevent the entry of Illegals and to remove them back across the Border."
Ivey announced in October the deployment of 275 Alabama National Guard troops to the southern border to assist in handling the record numbers of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States.
A spokesperson for Ivey told 1819 News those troops are still deployed on that mission at the border.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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