Texas governor cites state’s ‘right of self defence’ for border standoff with federal government

Texas governor Greg Abbott invoked his state’s “constitutional authority to defend itself” on Wednesday when explaining his defiance of the federal government in a dispute over the control of a stretch of the border with Mexico.

A tense stand-off between Texas National Guard troops and the federal government has escalated in recent days after the state refused to comply with a Supreme Court order allowing border patrol agents to remove razor wire placed by Mr Abbott’s administration at a park in Eagle Pass, on the Rio Grande.

Mr Abbott doubled down on that refusal on Tuesday by continuing to block the federal agency agents from accessing the area and adding more razor wire.

Defending his decision, the governor accused President Joe Biden of refusing to enforce immigration laws.

«President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress,» he said in a statement. «Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border.»

Mr Abbott further invoked his own state’s “constitutional authority to defend and protect itself” for continuing to block federal agents from the border.

“That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,” he added.

For years now, Mr Abbott has led an aggressive campaign to deter migrants from crossing the border, which has created tensions with the Biden administration. The Justice Department recently sued Texas after Mr Abbott passed a law allowing migrants to be arrested for crossing the border.

The dispute at Eagle Pass has transformed a hitherto political battle between Republicans and