North Dakota joins 25-state coalition supporting Texas in border battle
North Dakota has joined a coalition of 25 Republican-led states coming to the defense of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s escalating standoff with the Biden administration over the state’s effort to secure the border with Mexico.
“As the Biden administration fails miserably to secure the southern border, Americans and our communities are paying the price,” North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum commented on X. “@GregAbbott_TX deserves our thanks for taking action to stop illegal crossings and disrupt drug and human trafficking. North Dakota stands with Texas.”
The action follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal border patrol agents could remove razor wire fencing erected by Texas National Guard soldiers to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. Nevertheless, Abbott maintains the high court order does not prohibit the state from legally installing razor wire, which Texas guard troops continue to do. The Texas governor made the case for the state’s right to defend itself in a blistering January 24 memo citing the Constitution’s authority to do so.
…I have already declared an invasion under Article I…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.
A statement signed onto by the 25 red state governors backs up Abbott’s right to safeguard the international boundary given the Biden administration’s dereliction of that responsibility.
“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 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.”
It’s unclear whether Burgum will join several states in dispatching National Guard troops to bolster Operation Lone Star. If so, it wouldn’t be the first time. Last summer Burgum dispatched and visited some 100 members of the 188 Engineer Company of the North Dakota Army National Guard who spent a month assisting Texas troops on the Mexican border.
“The 188th Engineer Company was honored to support the state of Texas in the joint operation, Operation Lone Star,” said Capt. Heather Baril, 188th Engineer Company commander. “We were able to quickly integrate with the Texas National Guard and multiple law enforcement partners to ensure mission success. Part of our mission was to deter human and drug trafficking along the border and to ensure public safety.”