DEL RIO, Texas—The national Border Patrol union, which represents about 18,000 agents, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott should “absolutely” invoke his powers under the Constitution to call the border crisis an “invasion” and respond accordingly.
“We’re at a breaking point. We’ve got miles upon miles of border that just aren’t patrolled because we have to deal with, frankly, an invasion,” Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, told The Epoch Times.
“When you’re dealing with over 200,000 illegal border crossings per month, I don’t know how you don’t call it anything but that.”
Border Patrol apprehensions along the southern border have remained above 150,000 per month since March 2021, with the exception of this past January. In March, numbers show more than 220,000 apprehensions were made.
During one night last week, Border Patrol agents apprehended 16 illegal aliens from Kyrgyzstan, seven from Kazakhstan, and a Russian within a large group near Eagle Pass, Texas, according to Customs and Border Protection.
“I mean, we’re dealing with countries all over the world, and a lot of these countries want to do the United States harm,” Judd said.
“So if you were to declare that and bring the National Guard in, and the National Guard immediately expelled people that crossed the border illegally. Why not? If the Constitution allows it—which, apparently it does—why not exercise that authority?”
Abbott, a Republican, would have to declare the border crisis an invasion to invoke the state constitutional powers to protect itself if the federal government is derelict in that duty.
Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, in part: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion.”
Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution states, in part: “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress … engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”
Texas is waiting for its Attorney General, Ken Paxton, to write an opinion in response to a query submitted by state Rep. Matt Krause on March 28.
“The Biden Administration has been so inept or apathetic to the plight of Texas and other border states, that it very well could rise to a violation of Article 4, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution,” Krause wrote in a Facebook post that accompanied a copy of the official letter.
“So, today, I asked the Attorney General for an official opinion on whether that violation has occurred here in Texas.”
