More than two dozen Republican governors, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have rallied behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his quest to stop the Biden administration from making the ongoing border crisis even worse.
Earlier this week, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled federal authorities could cut and open the razor wire Texas installed to keep out illegal immigrants, Abbott doubled down. He ordered the National Guard to install more wire.
On Thursday, according to Newsweek, DeSantis and 24 GOP governors signed a joint statement defending Texas’ right of self-defense.
Read: Trump Calls On All ‘Willing’ States To Deploy Guard To Texas, Southern Border
“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border,” they wrote, according to Newsweek.
“We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.”
“Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states,” their statement continued, “Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation.”
DeSantis elaborated on the issue in a video posted Thursday on X.
Read: Republicans Rush To Defend Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Amid Border Standoff With Biden
The governor, who earlier this week departed the GOP presidential primary, called it “just crazy” that President Joe Biden is demanding that Texas take down the barrier so even more illegals can pour across the border.
“If the Constitution was originally understood to mean that a state could not protect itself against an invasion (and) the federal government could force a state to allow an invasion, the Constitution would have never been ratified in the first place,” said DeSantis.
Citing the Federalist Paper 46, written by James Madison, the governor noted that the Founding Fathers believed that states would mitigate “federal encroachment.”
Texas is “holding its ground. They have every right to fortify the border vis a vis an invasion,” DeSantis continued. “So, they’re in the right.”
The irony, he added, is that the same liberals who now denounce Abbott and Texas for not giving in to Biden also have applauded sanctuary cities that “deliberately act to frustrate” federal law enforcement and refuse to work with U.S. authorities to deport lawbreakers.
Read: Florida Gov. DeSantis Urges Texas Gov. Greg Abbott To “Hold Their Ground” At Border
“Somehow, that’s viewed as OK,” DeSantis noted.
“All of this is nonsense, what Biden is doing,” DeSantis added. “Texas has every right to stand its ground. … It’s not just a Texas issue. It’s an American issue. If we don’t have sovereignty in this country, we’re not gonna be a country anymore.”
“They have every right to hold their ground, to stay the course,” DeSantis reiterated. “And Florida will continue to be there helping out every step of the way.”
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