The state of Texas continues to challenge US President Joe Biden over the border with Mexico and is offering cash rewards to Texas Military Department border security volunteers. The state seeks to “position border security assets in high-threat areas to deny criminal organizations the ability to illegally move drugs and people into Texas.” According to the Texas Military Department website, volunteers will work with him full time and receive up to $55 a day. transmits Newsweek.
It comes amid ongoing tension between Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over the border with Mexico, through which hundreds of thousands of migrants enter the States. On Jan. 26, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration and ruled that federal border patrol agents have the right to remove the razor wire Abbott ordered installed near the border town of Eagle Pass.
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Biden vs Abbott
The call for more volunteers is part of the standoff between the state and the Biden administration over the border issue. The Biden administration says state-mandated wire limits Border Patrol agents’ access to some parts of the border. Abbott, meanwhile, criticized Biden’s “reckless open border policy” and tweeted after the Supreme Court decision that the wire is an “effective deterrent against illegal border crossings.”
Apparently defying the court’s decision, he wrote: “We continue to deploy this barbed wire to repel illegal immigration.”
In a letter dated Jan. 24 following the court’s decision, the Department of Homeland Security demanded “full access” to the border by Jan. 26. The letter, addressed to Texas officials, said federal Customs and Border Protection officials had blocked access to the area.
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Trump got involved
Almost all Republican governors now support Texas Governor Abbott in his dispute with the Biden administration. Abbott’s references to the self-defense clause and his assertion that “the supreme law of the land supersedes any federal law that conflicts with it” was echoed by all 26 Republican governors except Vermont’s Phil Scott.
On January 25, former US President Donald Trump, who plans to lead the state again in 2024 and uses anti-immigration rhetoric in his election platform, said on his social platform Truth that “all Americans should support the measures of the Texas authorities aimed at protecting the security, sovereignty of Texas and American people.” He also said that willing states should “send their guards to Texas to prevent illegal immigrants from entering and send them back across the border.”
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“Texas People’s Republic”
Texas, an independent republic before becoming a US state in 1845, is once again the subject of calls for independence. This movement was called “Texit” by analogy with Brexit (the exit of Great Britain from the European Union).
Russians share on social media with their joy at the US border crisis, expressing support for declaring independence from the United States. Americans read their calls: “Texas, we are with you! Freedom for Texas!”, “Be strong, Texas! Ours will come soon.” And some joked that Putin “signed a decree recognizing the independence of the Texas People’s Republic.”
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According to the 1869 US Supreme Court decision Texas v. White, all individual states, including Texas, are prohibited from unilaterally deciding to secede from the United States. The court ruled that the United States is an “immutable union” from which no state can secede.
The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) is the largest organization advocating for the state to secede from the United States. Daniel Miller, the de facto leader of the movement, told Newsweek that he believes Texas can become an independent state within three decades.
“I think the trajectory that the federal government is on, the trajectory that Texas is on, I think we’re moving in this direction because of either a conscious decision or the collapse of the federal system because of- for its failure to meet its basic demands, I think Texas will become an independent state within exactly 30 years,” Miller said.
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What does Ukraine have from Texas history?
The situation with the US southern border became the reason for blocking a US military aid package worth $61 billion in the US Congress back in September 2023. Republicans are demanding that the Biden administration change border laws and strengthen border security or they will not vote on funding to support Ukraine.
Since November, negotiations have continued between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, who have so far been unable to reach an agreement. In the last week, Trump began to interfere in the conclusion of the agreement – Republicans aligned with him demanded more radical changes, calling the agreement into question. The Texas story only deepens the crisis and does not help achieve compromise in Congress. On January 26, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the deal reached in the Senate would be “dead” until it reached his chamber.