Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told Fox News on Thursday that sending federal agents to fight the Texas National Guard on the Mexican border would be “the biggest mistake” that US President Joe Biden could do. The Department of Homeland Security has asked for access to the border before the end of the day.
The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that federal officials could begin removing a razor wire fence built by Texas near Eagle Pass, a common border crossing point for illegal immigrants entering the country.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott – who installed the fence in 2021 and stationed national guardsmen along the border to stem what he called an “invasion” – vowed to defy the ruling, arguing that President Joe Biden’s administration has failed to enforce federal immigration law, and that his duty to protect his constituents supersedes any federal laws.
“The biggest mistake the Biden administration could make would be confronting law enforcement or our military, our national guard at our border, when we are actually doing the job that the American people want,” Patrick told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
“If they come down and create a situation, all of America already knows now [and] they will clearly see that the Democrats are willing to take on a state that is operating under our constitutional right to protect our people and protect this country,” he said.
In a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security demanded that razor wire be removed immediately and that its agents have “unrestricted access” to the border via Shelby Park, a 2.5-mile stretch that can be reached but is currently blocked by the Texas National Guard. The letter directed Paxton to comply by Friday.
“They’re trying to make this a fight,” Patrick told Ingraham. “We are attempting to secure our border, we’re trying to protect American lives and Texas lives.”Some 25 Republican governors issued a joint statement of solidarity with Abbott on Thursday. “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,” the letter read. “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.”
