Concerns about the outbreak of civil war in the United States have escalated following the deployment of National Guard troops from Republican-led states to Texas, challenging the Biden administration and federal forces. Several Republican-led states started sending National Guard members months ago to address the rising waves of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. One state remarked, "Nothing is off the table," as tensions heightened between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. Abbott expressed his dissatisfaction with last Monday's Supreme Court ruling, which was decided by a 5-4 majority, that annulled an appellate court order and allowed federal border agents to remove the barbed wire installed by Texas officials under Abbott's supervision.
On Thursday, Republican governors from 25 states (half of the fifty states) pledged their support for Governor Abbott and the state's constitutional authority to defend itself, including erecting barbed wire fences to secure the border against what Abbott described as an "invasion" of migrants into his state. In a joint statement, the conservative governors said, “We do this in part because the Biden administration refuses to enforce existing immigration laws and illegally allows the mass conditional release of migrants who entered our country illegally throughout America.”
This move comes in response to former President Donald Trump's call for Republican-led states to work together to combat the issue of illegal immigration at the southern border, a problem Republicans claim Biden is failing to address appropriately. Trump stated, "We encourage all willing states to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants and to push them back across the border," referring to the "invasion" of migrants coming to the U.S.
As Trump and the Republican governors escalate their stance against the Biden administration, fears of a civil war tearing the country apart have increased. Kevin Stitt, the governor of Oklahoma and one of the 25 signatories of the letter, remarked, "Now you have federal agents cutting the wires, and then you have the National Guard in Texas ordered to put the wires up; this is a powder keg situation worth the tension. It is a very strange situation, and we are definitely standing with Texas in its right to defend itself."
Trump's call for Republican-led states to pledge their support to Texas coincided with Democratic leaders in that state demanding that the Biden administration federalize the National Guard in Texas to prevent it from erecting more barbed wire, according to U.S. media.
In response to these developments, Biden released a statement on the platform "X," stating, "For too long, we all know the border has been breached. It has been far too long to fix this situation. That is why I directed my team two months ago to begin negotiations with a group of bipartisan senators to seriously and ultimately address the border crisis. And they have been working around the clock.”
He added, “Let’s be clear. What has been negotiated will – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest reforms to secure the border ever. It would grant me, as President, new emergency powers to close the border when it becomes overcrowded with migrants. If granted such powers, I will use them on the very day I sign the bill into law.”
Moreover, Biden stated that Congress needs to provide the funding he requested last October to secure the border. This includes an additional 1,300 border agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers, and over 100 advanced inspection devices to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwestern borders.
White House officials refrained from commenting on whether President Biden has considered federalizing the National Guard in Texas amidst his conflict with the Texas governor. National Security Advisor John Kirby disregarded questions about this issue during a brief meeting with reporters aboard Air Force One last Thursday, saying, "I have no decisions to speak on behalf of the president."
American cities along the 3,100-kilometer border with Mexico are facing a significant influx of migrant groups. Reports indicate that the number of migrants in recent months of 2023 has reached around 10,000 daily. Republicans consistently use the immigration issue to attack their Democratic opponents, and these criticisms are expected to intensify as the presidential election approaches.
