A pair of Texas Democrats are calling on Joe Biden to seize control of the Texas National Guard and make it comply with a recent Supreme Court order allowing the president’s administration to remove razor wire set up by Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas officials, with the support of top Republicans in Congress, are refusing to allow the U.S. Border Patrol to access a park on the banks of the Rio Grande despite the 5-4 ruling by the high court Monday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has pushed back and added even more wire fencing, claiming that he has the authority to defend his state from what he called an “invasion” of migrants coming from Mexico.
“Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote in a social media post Tuesday.
“If Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling … [Biden] needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now.”
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said that he agreed with Castro on federal control, and accused Abbott of using “political stunts and inflammatory language to advance his own agenda, violating the Constitution and endangering both U.S. citizens and asylum seekers.”
The White House, for the moment, is keeping its distance. National Security adviser John Kirby on Thursday sidestepped questions about Democrats’ calls to federalize the Texas National Guard.
“We talked about this the other day,” Kirby told reporters. “I don’t have any decisions to speak to for the president. I don’t have anything on that.”
The growing border dispute in Texas is taking place as Congress struggles to pass reforms to U.S. immigration law and toughen border policies. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans are urging their party to reject any deal with Democrats until Trump, the GOP’s likely 2024 presidential nominee, is back in the White House.
On Thursday, Trump fueled the flames by calling on other…
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