A coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas backing Texas in its border battle with the Biden administration.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defied the Biden administration last week, making clear he would continue to put up concertina wire fencing at the southern border to help stop the flow of illegal immigration, which has soared since Biden took office.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue last week, saying federal agents could continue to remove the concertina wire, but the ruling did not prohibit Texas from installing the border defenses. Abbott said after the ruling that the federal government had broken its pact with the states for not stopping what more than 50 Texas counties have declared an “invasion.”
More than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. since Biden took office, more than the population of about 40 U.S. states.
An impeachment effort is underway in the House for Mayorkas, the recipient of this letter, over similar concerns about the lack of border enforcement and Mayorkas policies.
The Biden administration has blamed Republicans, saying they have not passed the needed funding to secure the border. Republicans have pushed back, saying Biden’s changes to things like asylum policies have turned border agents into a processing and entry program instead of deterrence.
The Monday letter sided with Texas and said states “have an independent duty to defend against invasion.”
The letter was signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The leadership of the Arizona state legislature signed as well.
