Over five million illegal aliens have crossed the U.S. southern border with Mexico since Joe Biden assumed the presidency
"I invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion," Abbott announced.
- Deploy the National Guard to safeguard the border, and to repel and turn back immigrants trying to cross the border illegally
- Deploy the Texas Dept. of Public Safety (DPS) to arrest and return immigrants to the border who crossed illegally, and to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal activity;
- Build a wall in multiple counties on the border;
- Deploy gunboats;
- Designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations;
- Enter into a compact with other states to secure the border;
- Enter into agreements with foreign powers to enhance border security;
- Provide resources for border counties to increase their efforts to respond to the "border invasion."
"Two years of inaction on your part now leave Texas with no choice but to escalate our efforts to secure our State," Gov. Abbott wrote in the letter to Joe Biden. "Your open-border policies, which have catalyzed an unprecedented crisis of illegal immigration, are the sole cause of Texas having to invoke our constitutional authority to defend ourselves." Article 4 Section 7 of the Texas Constitution states, "GOVERNOR AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF MILITARY FORCES. He shall be Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of the State, except when they are called into actual service of the United States. He shall have the power to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions." ... Ten locations along the Texas–Mexico border will get Vietnam-era M113 armored personnel carriers... According to the order, around 50 soldiers will be trained to operate the vehicles, and state officials will identify 10 positions to station them along the border. The order issued Thursday by Texas Military Department officials to the headquarters overseeing Operation Lone Star reveals that the National Guard will soon deploy 10 M113 armored personnel carrier vehicles to the border... around 50 soldiers will be trained to operate the vehicles, and state officials will identify 10 positions to station them along the border. The Texas National Guard is increasing "aircraft flights and security efforts" on the border.