On Wednesday, Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) called on President Biden to “seize” the Texas National Guard by calling them into Federal service, removing them from the command and control of the State of Texas. This is presumably in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s defiant tone towards the Biden Administration on closing the border.
A Texas congressman has urged President Biden to take the state’s National Guard under federal control if Republican Governor Greg Abbott defies a Supreme Court ruling allowing federal agents to remove razor wire from a section of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The call was made by Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro after Abbott posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying the Texas National Guard would continue to “hold the line in Eagle’s Pass,” a popular migrant crossing point, stating: “Texas will not back down from our efforts to secure the border in Biden’s absence.”
Castro re-shared Abbott’s post on his own X account, adding: “Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border.
As of this writing, there has been no action on this by the Biden Administration.
See Related: Texas Governor Greg Abbott Defiant: Texas Has Constitutional Right to Self-Defense
This idea by Rep. Castro raises some interesting questions:
- Were the President to activate the Texas National Guard under Title 10, what would their orders be? To assist federal officers in throwing open the gates?
- What happens if members of the Texas National Guard refuse activation and instead continue to follow the orders of TX-ANG officers and Governor Abbott?
- What if the Texas Guard splits, and former comrades end up facing each other across that red line?
- If the Pentagon sends federal troops, how willing are they going to be to confront other Americans to allow the continued invasion of the country?
- Is there any possibility that there may be open conflict between Texas and federal officials?
I’m no wild-eyed conspiracy theorist, but this is the kind of thing that civil wars start over.
See Related:
‘The Fight Is Not Over’: Texas Won’t Give Up on Securing Its Borders After SCOTUS Ruling
Mom Whose Daughter Was Allegedly Raped, Killed by Illegal Alien MS-13 Member Sues Biden’s Government
Meanwhile, Senator and possible No-Labels Presidential candidate Joe Manchin (D-WV) is advising another course, in advising President Biden to declare a national emergency over the illegal immigration crisis.
“The President has a responsibility and, I think, an obligation that if Congress cannot, because of politics, consummate a deal, then he has to declare a national emergency,” Manchin told Newsweek. “The border is probably the greatest crisis we face right now.”
Declaring a national emergency offers the president powers not normally afforded to the office, including the ability to authorize military construction projects, enter national defense-related contracts, and deploy troops to coordinate relief efforts.
It’s unlikely in the extreme that the Biden Administration is going to declare a national emergency on the illegal invasion of the southern border; this administration has spent three years denying that there is any such emergency. Add to that the fact that neither side here looks like they are considering backing down.
This entire situation is becoming more unsettling by the day. Governor Abbott has the Constitution on his side; the Biden Administration is clearly in dereliction of duty in their utter failure to secure the border states against invasion, as he is constitutionally required to do. Texas has clearly had enough. Governor Abbott is arguing that he has the Constitution, Article I, § 10, Clause 3 on his side, and the plain language of that section seems to support his claim; one can hardly deny that 6 million illegal aliens entering our country since January 2021 is anything other than an invasion.
Things are about to get very, very interesting, and the Biden people may be about to be given a lesson on the old saying, “Don’t Mess With Texas.”
