Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, is calling on President Joe Biden to take control of the Texas National Guard if the state won't stop "defying" a Supreme Court ruling that allows Customs and Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire from the border with Mexico.
"Governor Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border," Castro said in a statement posted Tuesday on his website. "If Abbott is defying [Monday’s] Supreme Court ruling, President Biden needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard immediately."
Texas has placed miles of razor wire along the Rio Grande River that separates the U.S. from Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing. But Biden instructed CBP agents to cut the wire and allow the migrants access to the U.S. In Eagle Pass, Texas, Texas National Guard troops took control of a local park that had been a major staging area for illegal immigrants to cross the Rio Grande and reach U.S. soil.
But the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision Monday that CBP agents can cut the wire. Abbott, a Republican, has remained defiant, ordering more razor wire to be installed and declaring the state has a constitutional right to defend and protect itself.
"The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States," Abbott said Wednesday in a statement on his website. "The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including immigration laws on the books right now.
"President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them. The result is that he has smashed records for illegal immigration. Despite having been put on notice in a series of letters — one of which I delivered to him by hand — President Biden has ignored Texas’ demand that he perform his constitutional duties."
Abbott said under Biden’s "lawless border policies," more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border in the last three years.
"That is more than the population of 33 different States in this country," he said. "This illegal refusal to protect the States has inflicted unprecedented harm on the People all across the United States."