Gov. Greg Abbott sends in Texas National Guard to assist with ‘invasion’ at border

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) ramped up security efforts at the Texas-Mexico border on Wednesday evening, sending the Texas National Guard to help with the “invasion” and ordering officials to install more razor wire.

Abbott deployed other local law enforcement agencies along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, arguing in a letter sent to the president that the federal government is failing to protect Texans.

AS GOP WRESTLES WITH SPENDING DEAL, WILL HOUSE DEMOCRATS COME TO THEIR AID?

“Texans are paying the price for your failure,” the letter reads. “Ranches are being ripped apart, and homes are vulnerable to intrusion. Our border communities are regularly disrupted by human traffickers and bailouts. Deadly fentanyl is crossing the porous border to such a degree that it is now the leading cause of death for citizens between the ages of 18 and 45.”

The Republican governor, who has been at battle with Democrats and the Biden administration over the influx of immigrants at the southern border, invoked the invasion clause of the Constitution in November, which states the federal government “shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government and shall protect each of them against invasion.”

On Wednesday, Abbott accused the Biden administration of cutting razor wire recently installed in Eagle Pass. He ordered the state’s National Guard to install more wire and said Texas would repel immigrants by “building a border wall, razor wire, and marine barriers.”

“Texas installed razor wire in Eagle Pass to stop illegal crossings,” Abbott said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Today the Biden Admin cut that wire, opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

This summer, Texas used disaster declarations to install buoys and razor wire, which resulted in a legal battle when the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging the installation of the buoys is prohibited under the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act.

Some Texas officials — including Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who is running for Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) seat in 2024 — have pushed back on the use of razor wire and other measures. Gutierrez said on X that Texans are fighting back against the “inhumane treatment of migrants” and are in search of “real solutions to address border security and reform our broken immigration system.”