Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott slammed New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams during an interview on Sunday for &#8220;aiding and abetting&#8221; President Joe Biden&#8217;s illegal immigration crisis.
Abbott made the remarks on Fox News&#8217; &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; in response to criticism that he faced from Adams over his decision to bus thousands of illegal aliens from Texas to New York City.
&#8220;The person who is actually using illegal immigrants as political pawns is Joe Biden,&#8221; Abbott said. &#8220;Joe Biden has created this open border policy that has allowed illegal immigrants into our country to appeal to and to appease the far leftists in the Democrat Party that people like [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez in hopes of trying to win their support while at the same time destroying the country that he&#8217;s in charge of. He is the commander-in-chief in charge of national security for our country. Our country is being invaded in ways that put our country at risk because of the political games that Joe Biden has played.&#8221;
&#8220;And Mayor Adams is just aiding and abetting that by having a sanctuary city status, welcoming in anybody from across the world to live there or stay there in New York City on the bill of New York City,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And what Mayor Adams needs to do, he needs to stop talking boldly about illegal immigration and the migrants that Texas is sending there. And he needs to step up and do his own job because look at the dangers in New York City under his watch. You have a police officer who is killed. You have the train system in New York, which is treacherous for travelers. You got police officers attacked in Times Square by illegal immigrants.&#8221;
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Abbott said that Adams needed to &#8220;step up and do his job as mayor and protect the people of his community as opposed to gimmicks about what&#8217;s going on on the border. &#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GregAbbott_TX</a> joins the show to discuss the latest news at the U.S. border, arguing that Biden has ‘abandoned’ his responsibility to handle the migrant crisis. <a href="https://t.co/g0ZNnMCBW2">pic.twitter.com/g0ZNnMCBW2</a>
&mdash; Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1776987918768259487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
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US-TEXAS-SPACE-ABBOTT

Texas Governor Abbott Blasts NYC Mayor Adams: ‘Aiding And Abetting’ Biden’s Border Crisis

Border Crisis

Eric Adams

Greg Abbott

Immigration

New York

New York City

Politics

Texas

The University of Texas at Austin reportedly laid off at least 60 employees in positions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> law banning <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEI</a> programs and offices at public universities took effect. 
UT Austin announced this week major organizational changes to comply with the state&#8217;s DEI law, <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB00017F.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Bill 17</a>, which went into effect in January. The law, signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott in June 2023, prohibits public colleges in the state from establishing DEI offices and hiring DEI officers. 
In a Tuesday <a href="https://president.utexas.edu/organizational-changes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to staff and students, UT Austin President Jay Hartzell said that the school&#8217;s Division of Campus and Community Engagement, once known as the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, would close.
“Soon after the passage last year of Senate Bill 17 — which prohibits many activities around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) — the University embarked on a multiphase process to review campus portfolios and end or redesign the policies, programs, trainings, and roles affected by the new law,” Hartzell said. 
“Additionally, funding used to support DEI across campus prior to SB 17’s effective date will be redeployed to support teaching and research,” he added. “As part of this reallocation, associate or assistant deans who were formerly focused on DEI will return to their full-time faculty positions. The positions that provided support for those associate and assistant deans and a small number of staff roles across campus that were formerly focused on DEI will no longer be funded.”
The Austin American Statesman <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/04/02/texas-senate-bill-17-anti-dei-ut-fires-four-staff-related-positions-two-sources-confirm/73179902007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that &#8220;at least 60 staff members&#8221; have already been laid off due to the new law. According to Hartzell, employees whose DEI positions are being eliminated would be given the opportunity to apply for other open positions at UT-Austin. 
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The layoffs come after state Senator Brandon Creighton <a href="https://archive.ph/n9dSp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> a letter last week informing Texas university leadership that the state Senate would be conducting oversight to ensure that they were complying with the law. 
“When Texas taxpayer dollars are used to fund offices, departments, or employee positions dedicated to promoting DEI initiatives, rather than basing decisions on merit, that is not only inappropriate, it is inconsistent with state law,” said Creighton. “Now that SB 17 is law, I’m confident that Texas public colleges and universities can return to their core mission of innovation and education— and if they do not, the Texas Senate will be resolute in enforcement of this legislation.”
Republican-led states across the country, from Florida to Alabama, have enacted bans on DEI in higher education amid criticism of schools prioritizing identity over education and merit.

Views Of The Texas State Capital During The South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival

At Least 60 Staffers Laid Off At University Of Texas As DEI Ban Takes Effect

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Education

University of Texas

Texas authorities arrested a national guardsman on Sunday after he fled from officers while allegedly attempting to smuggle an illegal immigrant into the U.S.
Law enforcement officers of the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Kinney County Sheriff&#8217;s Department arrested Savion Johnson in Brackettville, Texas, after Johnson led law enforcement on a chase that reached speeds in excess of 100 mph, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/04/us-news/texas-national-guardsman-caught-smuggling-migrant-across-southern-border-in-government-suv-near-eagle-pass-crossing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. Johnson has been charged with evading arrest, human smuggling, and the unlawful carry of a weapon.
“If the allegations are true, the accused is a traitor and criminal,&#8221; Abbott Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-dashcam-footage-shows-moment-texas-national-guardsman-arrested-for-allegedly-smuggling-illegal-immigrant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> in a statement.
“We have zero tolerance for Texans who violate laws that directly contradict the mission we are seeking to achieve. The accused&#8217;s illegal smuggling may subject him to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least 10 years,” Mahaleris added. “He deserves more.”
Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe identified Johnson as a member of the Texas National Guard who was taking part in Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a Texas initiative to combat illegal immigration into the state from its border with Mexico, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/us/texas-national-guard-migrant-smuggling.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
“It’s not a good thing. But he’s not the first one we’ve picked up that’s associated with the National Guard,” Coe said. “We’ve picked up attorneys. Preachers. Old ones, young ones, juveniles. The money is out there.”
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Johnson was allegedly offered $5,000 to $6,000 to smuggle the alien, who was also arrested, according to the Post. Johnson allegedly sped away from a Border Patrol checkpoint in a government vehicle and led officers on a 15-mile chase. The vehicle was stopped after officers used spike strips to blow its tires.
Johnson is the latest law enforcement officer to be arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle aliens into the U.S. In June, authorities <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/2-soldiers-charged-attempting-smuggle-noncitizens">arrested</a> two soldiers, including a national guardsman, in the same area as Johnson for allegedly smuggling illegal aliens.
Abbott&#8217;s latest efforts to combat illegal immigration into the United States involve the passage of a law that makes unlawful entry a state crime enforceable by local law enforcement. The law, scheduled to go into effect earlier this year, has been placed on hold by a panel of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judges while the court works through a legal challenge to the law&#8217;s constitutionality. The Biden administration has challenged the Texas law, arguing that immigration enforcement is strictly the domain of the federal government.

El Paso

Texas National Guardsman Arrested On Human Smuggling Charge After Border Chase

Border Patrol

Crime

National Guard

Smuggling

U.S.

Many of the illegal immigrants who stormed the southern border on Thursday by breaking down razor wire and fencing before pushing into National Guard troops were reportedly processed and released into the United States after the incident. 
Video captured by New York Post reporter Jennie Taer showed hundreds of illegal immigrant men charging the border in El Paso, Texas, and appearing to assault National Guard troops. According to Taer, many of these men were processed by Border Patrol under <a href="https://www.heritage.org/immigration/commentary/why-the-end-title-42-means-the-end-secure-border">Title 8</a>, a measure that allows illegal immigrants to be released while their asylum claims make it through the courts. 
”This sends the message to people around the world that even if you act like this you can probably get into the country,” Taer said during an interview on Fox News. “And I think they continue to push these boundaries and to see what they can get away with and here they got away with some really, really scary stuff.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Wow: <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JennieSTaer</a> just confirmed to <a href="https://twitter.com/DanaPerino?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DanaPerino</a> that many of these single adults who assaulted National Guardsmen and rushed the wall were later processed and released into the interior. <a href="https://t.co/7H0zfVMaRi">https://t.co/7H0zfVMaRi</a> <a href="https://t.co/tTHbcckTVx">pic.twitter.com/tTHbcckTVx</a>
&mdash; John Cooper (@thejcoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/thejcoop/status/1771162271718277503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) gave a brief update about the incident a few hours after video of the incident garnered millions of views online. Taer’s video of the incident had been viewed nearly 17 million times by Friday afternoon. 
“The TX National Guard &amp; Dept. of Public Safety quickly regained control &amp; are redoubling the razor wire barriers,” Abbott <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1770937320151064914">said</a>. “DPS is instructed to arrest every illegal immigrant involved for criminal trespass &amp; destruction of property.”
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Republicans responded to the video by calling on President Joe Biden to secure the border and said that Congress should not approve funding for the government while the crisis continued. Under Biden, illegal immigrants have crossed and been released into the United States in record numbers. 
“Republicans cannot approve government funding for the Biden administration to continue this disaster,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1770895369615872478">said</a>. “The future of our country is at stake.”
“Every American should watch this,” Sen. J.D. Vance <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1770939066525098490">said</a>. “We shouldn’t fund Joe Biden’s government until he does something to address this. The power of the purse is our only leverage.”
“[Biden] and [DHS Secretary Mayorkas] won’t say this is a crisis, they’ll only say it’s a ‘challenge,’” Sen. Ron Johnson<a href="https://twitter.com/SenRonJohnson/status/1770897090631049241"> said</a>. “No, Mr. President, this is an invasion, and you’re doing nothing to protect America.”

Migrant crisis continues at US-Mexico border

Illegal Immigrants Who Stormed National Guard Processed And Released Into United States By Border Patrol

Illegal Immigration

JD Vance

Joe Biden

Mike Lee

Ron Johnson

Just how committed is the Biden administration to an open border?
This much: They&#8217;re still so committed to an open border that they&#8217;re now trying to stop the state of Texas from actually enforcing the border.
The state of Texas tried to erect barbed wire fencing in the middle of Shelby Park, a Texas state park, to prevent illegal immigrants from simply rushing over and into the interior of the United States. The White House then ordered Border Patrol to take down some of that fencing. The White House has also attempted to sue the state of Texas to stop the state from passing a law that would criminalize illegal entry into Texas, a law which would allow the state to arrest and then presumably attempt to deport illegal immigrants.
The Biden administration basically said, “No. Only we have the prerogative when it comes to enforcing border law. And we have chosen not to enforce border law, which means you cannot enforce border law,” which is an absurd contention.  The entire purpose of the federal government is to enforce things like the border. If they won&#8217;t do it, then states probably do have the sovereign ability to actually enforce the border.
That was the question before the Supreme Court. The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/supreme-court-ruling-deportation-texas-sb4-f8328b6d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Wednesday:
<blockquote>The Supreme Court allowed Texas to begin arresting and deporting noncitizens on its own—only for another court to step in hours later and block any such state efforts for now. 
The rapidly shifting landscape comes thanks to a legal showdown between Texas and the Biden administration, which argues that states can’t interfere with federal authority over the border.
In the afternoon, the Supreme Court declined to block a Texas law known as SB 4, which makes illegal border crossing a state crime and allows state officials to conduct arrests and deportations. The measure had been on hold as the high court weighed the federal government’s request to halt implementation during ongoing litigation. A federal district judge had enjoined the law after it was challenged by the Biden administration and immigrant-rights groups, but the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in New Orleans, issued a temporary order that allowed SB 4 to go into effect.</blockquote>
The decision will probably be remanded back to the appellate court, and then it will come back to the Supreme Court in another form. 
The Wall Street Journal continued, saying:
<blockquote>A state enforcing its own immigration law in conflict with federal policy could have an immediate and wide-ranging impact on the border. Migrants who claim asylum from persecution have long been eligible to remain in the U.S. at least temporarily because federal law implementing international treaties bars summary deportation before their cases are decided.</blockquote>
In other words, the federal government decides to grant someone temporary asylum status while their case is pending. The state of Texas can say, “Well, I don&#8217;t know about that; this seems pretty sketchy. We&#8217;re just going to arrest you and deport you anyway.” 
What’s so odd, of course, is that for years and years and years, we&#8217;ve been told that it&#8217;s totally fine for states not to cooperate with federal authorities in their non-enforcement of the borders of the federal authorities.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1929-texas-cracks-down-on-illegal-immigration-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
Ask cities, for example, to give federal authorities information when an illegal immigrant is arrested? Cities can call themselves sanctuary cities and simply refuse to comply.
In other words, the Left-wing perspective is that if you are the city of New York and you wish to call yourself a sanctuary city, the federal government does not act. You occupy the space and you can do what you want.
But if you&#8217;re the state of Texas and you wish to actually enforce the border, you’re out of luck.
The country of Mexico immediately said they won&#8217;t even accept any sort of deportees from Texas; if you try to ship them back into Mexico, they would not accept them. They would only accept them from the federal government.
That shows you how hand-in-glove the Biden administration is working with the Mexican government.
Remember, Donald Trump had negotiated a Remain in Mexico policy with the Mexican government that said if you tried to cross the American border and you were captured or you applied for asylum, you had to wait in Mexico to hear whether a court would allow you into the country or not. You could not be released simply into the United States and then never show up for a court date again.
Joe Biden walked that back. 
The Mexican government, of course, prefers to work with Biden rather than the state of Texas. The government of Mexico put out <a href="https://www.gob.mx/sre/prensa/mexico-condemns-the-entry-into-force-of-anti-immigrant-law-sb4-in-texas?idiom=en#:~:text=On%20behalf%20of%20the%20Government,rights%20of%20the%20migrant%20community." target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> saying:
<blockquote>On behalf of the Government of Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the entry into force of Texas law SB4, which seeks to stop the flow of migrants by criminalizing them, and encouraging the separation of families, discrimination and racial profiling that violate the human rights of the migrant community.</blockquote>
I didn&#8217;t realize there was such a thing as “the migrant community.” 
Spoiler alert: There isn&#8217;t. It turns out the migrants come from over 100 countries all around the globe. They don&#8217;t constitute their own community. 
The state of Texas, which is heavily Hispanic, is not simply going after Hispanic people. They&#8217;re going after anyone who is there illegally.
Mexico is saying if a Chinese national crosses all the way through Mexican territory and then goes into the United States and the state of Texas, and you arrest that person and try to deport them back to Mexico, Mexico will refuse and say, “We have to protect our border from the American invasion from the North.”
It is the Biden administration that has announced multiple times that it will not take executive action to do anything about the border.
And that issue is going to continue to be an albatross around the neck of the Biden campaign.

Panoramic View Of The Borderlands: Southwestern U.S. And Mexico

Biden Tries To Stop Texas From Enforcing The Border. That’s Going To Hurt Biden’s Campaign.

Ben Shapiro

Biden Administration

Opinion

Readers Pass

Texas can enforce a law allowing state authorities to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, another development in the complicated battle between the Republican-led state and the Biden administration.
The high court voted 6-3 to reject the Biden administration&#8217;s emergency request for a stay on the Texas law while litigation continues in lower courts, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-allows-texas-enforce-immigration-law-rcna142971" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. All six conservative justices voted to reject the administration&#8217;s request, while the three liberal justices dissented.
The Supreme Court ruling comes just a day after the court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scotus-indefinitely-blocks-texas-law-allowing-police-to-arrest-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extended an administrative stay</a> on Texas&#8217; immigration law while considering the Biden administration&#8217;s emergency appeal. The majority did not provide the reasoning behind its decision, as is the case with most emergency applications, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/politics/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-begin-enforcing-controversial-immigration-law/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Senate Bill 4, signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott in December, has gone through a rollercoaster court battle in recent weeks. SB 4 was initially blocked by a federal judge before a federal appeals court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/appeals-court-reverses-block-on-texas-law-allowing-police-to-arrest-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reversed</a> the judge’s decision and allowed the law to go into effect. However, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-extends-stay-preventing-texas-from-enforcing-immigration-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped in</a> earlier this month — first extending a stay on the law’s implementation before ruling Tuesday that the law can go into effect.
SB 4 allows state officials to arrest and jail immigrants suspected of entering the U.S. unlawfully and also grants state judges the power to order deportations. The law drew harsh criticism from the Biden administration, which cited the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, arguing that the Texas law interferes with federal immigration law.
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with the Biden administration and warned of the consequences she believes will come from allowing the law to be enforced.
&#8220;The court gives a green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos,&#8221; she wrote.
Proponents of SB 4, such as Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, argue that the state has a constitutional right and duty to protect itself from what they view as an invasion at the U.S. southern border.
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“[The] Constitution recognizes that Texas has the sovereign right to defend itself from violent transnational cartels that flood the State with fentanyl, weapons, and all manner of brutality,” Paxton said.

Southern Border

SCOTUS Rejects Biden Admin’s Emergency Appeal, Says Texas Can Enforce Immigration Law

Courts

Ken Paxton

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Texas Republican Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/greg-abbott">Greg Abbott</a> on Tuesday responded to music acts pulling out of SXSW, a popular <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/austin">Austin</a>-based <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">entertainment</a> festival. 
Up to 60 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music">bands</a> have announced they aren&#8217;t coming due to the festival being sponsored by the U.S. Army and multiple defense contractors, among others. Abbott shared on his personal Twitter account that he doesn’t mind seeing them go. The SXSW Film &amp; TV Festival runs March 8 through March 16.
“Bye. Don’t come back,” the governor <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1767611026671833264">wrote</a>. “Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command. San Antonio is Military City USA. We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship.
Bye. Don’t come back.
Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command. 
San Antonio is Military City USA.
We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas.
If you don’t like it, don’t come here. <a href="https://t.co/t3RyQgLRKN">https://t.co/t3RyQgLRKN</a>
&mdash; Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1767611026671833264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. Army is listed on the festival’s website as a “Super Sponsor” along with other companies, including Volkswagen, The Austin Chronicle, Porsche, C4 Energy, and Delta.
“SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbott,” the official SXSW X account began in a <a href="https://twitter.com/sxsw/status/1767632974856470991">thread</a> of posts. “We are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”
“Across the globe, we are witnessing unspeakable tragedies, the rise of repressive regimes, and the increasing spread of violent conflict. It’s more crucial than ever that we come together to solve these greater humanitarian issues,” the account continued. “The defense industry has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today. These institutions are often leaders in emerging technologies, and we believe it’s better to understand how their approach will impact our lives.”
The thread concluded with SXSW saying it would “continue to support human rights for all.”
“The situation in the Middle East is tragic, and it illuminates the heightened importance of standing together against injustice,” the X thread concluded.
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The group Austin for Palestine Coalition encouraged SXSW to disinvite any contractors who aided the Israel Defense Forces and to “use its platform to raise awareness about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and advocate for peace, justice, and the protection of human rights.”
Several musical artists posted about their decision to drop out, including singer Eliza Lamb, who <a href="https://twitter.com/elizamclamb/status/1764786457103729044">wrote</a>, “I will never put my name on or perform my labor for an event in service of the US war machine, and especially not now as they continue to fuel the ongoing violence against Palestinians.”
&nbsp;

SXSW

TX Governor Responds To Bands Pulling Out Of SXSW Over Military Sponsorship: ‘Bye. Don’t Come Back’

TX Governor Greg Abbott Responds To Bands Pulling Out Of SXSW Over Military Sponsorship: 'Bye. Don’t Come Back'

Austin

Entertainment

Music

A federal appeals court will allow the Texas immigration law permitting law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants to go into effect this week after a federal judge had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-blocks-texas-law-allowing-police-to-arrest-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously blocked</a> it.
Senate Bill 4 was passed and signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott in December before Judge David Alan Ezra blocked it last week, ruling that states “may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government.” The appeals court’s stay on Ezra’s order, which came down over the weekend, means the law can now go into effect on March 9 unless the Supreme Court intervenes in the case and keeps it on hold, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/03/politics/texas-immigration-law-appeals-court/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
SB 4 allows law enforcement officers to arrest and jail illegal immigrants and also grants state judges the power to order deportations. The law drew harsh criticism from the Biden administration, which argued that the state law interfered with federal immigration law.
The Texas law was initially scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday, March 5, but the appeals court put a hold on its ruling for seven days to allow time for the Biden administration to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Abbott responded to the appeals court decision on Monday, <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1764692383541658100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writing</a>, “Law enforcement officers in Texas are now authorized to arrest &amp; jail any illegal immigrants crossing the border.”
“Obviously this is the case unless the Supreme Court intervenes by March 9,” the governor <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1764704508213428597" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
Abbott had previously vowed that his administration would fight to enforce the law all the way up to the Supreme Court. He said the law was necessary because of President Biden’s lax border policies, adding that “Texas has the constitutional authority to secure our border through historic laws like SB 4.”
Shortly after Abbott signed SB 4 into law, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Texas, arguing that the law was discriminatory and would target minorities, and a month later, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state. The Biden administration’s and ACLU’s lawsuits have since been combined. Opponents of the law argue that it violates the <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artVI-C2-1/ALDE_00013395/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supremacy Clause</a> of the U.S. Constitution which prohibits states from interfering with the federal government using its Constitutional powers.
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In Ezra’s ruling blocking the law from going into effect, the judge disagreed with the attorney for Texas, who argued that the law was necessary to curb the massive influx of illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico into the state, saying the crisis constitutes an invasion. Ezra said he did not see that Texas was under any sort of “military invasion.”
“I haven’t seen, and the state of Texas can’t point me to any type of military invasion in Texas,” Ezra said, according to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/29/texas-arrest-migrant-illegal-senate-bill-4-blocked/#:~:text=The%20law%2C%20Senate%20Bill%204,and%20several%20immigration%20advocacy%20organizations." target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Texas Tribune</a>. “I don’t see evidence that Texas is at war.”
In the first four months of fiscal year 2024, which accounts for October through January, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">recorded</a> nearly one million migrant encounters along the U.S. southern border. That number is on top of 2.4 million border encounters in 2023, 2.3 million in 2022, and 1.7 million in 2021. It does not account for illegal immigrants who crossed the border without being detected.

Migrants At The US-Mexico Border As Texas Increases Security

Appeals Court Reverses Block On Texas Law Allowing Police To Arrest Illegal Immigrants

One of several wildfires raging in the Texas Panhandle has grown to become the largest in state history.
The Smokehouse Creek fire has been burning since Monday and emergency crews have made little progress in containing it. It has so far torched over 1 million acres of land in Texas, the most by a wildfire in the history of the state, and 31,500 acres in Oklahoma, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/29/us/texas-panhandle-smokehouse-creek-fire-thursday/index.html">CNN</a>.
The Smokehouse Creek fire is just one of several that have ripped through Texas cattle country this week. Two people have died so far in the fires. Ranchers have lost thousands of livestock with many more likely to be euthanized. Many homes and other buildings have been lost to the flames, as well.
The owners of the historic Turkey Track ranch in Texas <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas-wildfires-updates-turkey-track-ranch-burned-acreage-containment/287-f6c094c5-2366-44fe-910f-9daf077866e3">estimate</a> that it has lost at least 80% of its land to the wildfires.
&#8220;The loss of livestock, crops, and wildlife, as well as ranch fencing and other infrastructure throughout our property as well as other ranches and homes across the region is, we believe, unparalleled in our history,” the ranch said in a statement.
The Panhandle is home to roughly 85% of Texas’ cattle herds, supporting over 10 million head of livestock, state agriculture commissioner Sid Miller told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/us/texas-wildfires-panhandle-smokehouse-creek.html">The New York Times</a>. Most of the cattle are kept in feedlots and dairy farms that have been largely unaffected by the wildfires, Miller said.
“There are millions of cattle out there, with some towns comprising more cattle than people,” Miller told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/story/largest-wildfire-in-texas-history-threatens-the-panhandle-6b6ebb39?mod=e2tw">The Wall Street Journal</a>. “The losses could be catastrophic for those counties. Farmers and ranchers are losing everything.”
Videos of the Texas wildfires have surfaced on social media. The footage shows miles of land covered in flames and dark smoke. As of Thursday afternoon, fire officials said the Smokehouse Fire was just 3% contained.
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The Smokehouse Creek Fire is now the second largest in Texas state history at over 850,000 acres. That’s just 57,000 acres short of being the largest wildfire ever in Texas.
Stay tuned.<a href="https://t.co/WDy65dk6hi">pic.twitter.com/WDy65dk6hi</a>
&mdash; Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) <a href="https://twitter.com/steve_hanke/status/1763172514635919683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Massive wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle sent cattle fleeing from the smoke. <a href="https://t.co/5PrXIHBO85">https://t.co/5PrXIHBO85</a> <a href="https://t.co/RP62inDfKO">pic.twitter.com/RP62inDfKO</a>
&mdash; CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1762894231771795845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
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❗🔥🇺🇸 &#8211; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Texas Panhandle wildfire has grown to more than 1 million acres, becoming the largest blaze on record in state history
The devastating blaze has begun to spread to neighboring Oklahoma, which has already lost about 31,000 acres of wood.
At the same time,… <a href="https://t.co/EmhWgYxJC7">pic.twitter.com/EmhWgYxJC7</a>
&mdash; 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) <a href="https://twitter.com/theinformant_x/status/1763239199002513823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Most of the fuels around here are dried grass, though, in some of the drainages and stuff, you can get some heavier fuel, some trees, some brush, things like that,&#8221; Sean Dugan of the Texas A&amp;M Forest Service told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/catastrophic-wildfires-destroying-homes-cattle-and-livelihoods/">CBS News</a>.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-disaster-declaration-for-texas-wildfires">issued</a> a disaster declaration for 60 counties on Tuesday because of the wildfires.

Smokehouse Creek fire

Texas Wildfire Torches Over 1M Acres, Largest In State History: ‘The Losses Could Be Catastrophic’

Wildfires

A Texas law giving state law enforcement officers expanded power to arrest people who illegally cross the southern border was blocked by a federal judge on Thursday — less than a week before the law was slated to go into effect.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra granted a preliminary injunction that will block the Texas law, which made crossing the border illegally a state crime, as record numbers of migrants cross into the U.S. under President Joe Biden, The Texas Tribune <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/29/texas-arrest-migrant-illegal-senate-bill-4-blocked/#:~:text=The%20law%2C%20Senate%20Bill%204,and%20several%20immigration%20advocacy%20organizations." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Ezra, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, wrote in his ruling that states &#8220;may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government.&#8221;
Ezra added that the Texas law conflicts with the Constitution &#8220;to the detriment of the United States&#8217; foreign relations and treaty obligations.&#8221; The law will be put on hold as the legal battle between Texas and the Biden administration continues.
The new immigration enforcement powers for police, which were proposed as Texas Senate Bill 4 and signed by Republican Governor Gregg Abbott, allow law enforcement officers to arrest and jail illegal immigrants and also grant state judges the power to order deportations. The law drew harsh criticism from the Biden administration, which argued that the state law interfered with federal immigration law.
In December, the ACLU <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aclu-sues-over-texas-law-allowing-state-officials-to-arrest-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed a lawsuit</a> against Texas over the law, arguing that is discriminatory and will target minorities, and a month later, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state. The Biden administration’s and ACLU’s lawsuits have since been combined.
A lawyer for the state of Texas argued in court that the massive influx of illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico into the state constitutes an invasion, adding that under Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, Texas has a right to defend itself. Judge Ezra, however, disagreed that Texas was under any sort of “military invasion.”
&#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen, and the state of Texas can&#8217;t point me to any type of military invasion in Texas,&#8221; Ezra said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t see evidence that Texas is at war.&#8221;
Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aclu-sues-over-texas-law-allowing-state-officials-to-arrest-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pledged</a> in December that the state would fight to enforce the law all the way up to the Supreme Court. He said the law was necessary because of President Biden’s border policies, adding that “Texas has the constitutional authority to secure our border through historic laws like SB 4.”
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The Texas governor said he wasn&#8217;t surprised by the judge&#8217;s ruling on Thursday, adding that his administration &#8220;will not back down in our fight to protect Texas.&#8221;
&#8220;Texas has the constitutional right to defend itself because of President Biden&#8217;s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty. We will not back down in our fight to protect Texas,&#8221; Abbott wrote in a post on X. &#8220;This case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.&#8221;
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Texas has the constitutional right to defend itself because of President Biden&#39;s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty.
We will not back down in our fight to protect Texas.
This case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. <a href="https://t.co/o7ugwxViMU">pic.twitter.com/o7ugwxViMU</a>
&mdash; Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1763266760969461901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Illegal immigration

Federal Judge Blocks Texas Law Allowing Police To Arrest Illegal Immigrants

Judge

A massive fire that erupted on Monday in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> Panhandle has quickly become the second largest fire in state history, engulfing more than 850,000 acres.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has killed at least one person, destroyed numerous homes, and killed livestock across the vast ranch lands, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/28/us/texas-wildfires-smokehouse-creek-panhandle.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times.
Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (DEM) to deploy additional state emergency response resources to support efforts to address the fire.
&#8220;As dangerous wildfires continue to impact the Texas Panhandle, I directed DEM to immediately deploy additional wildfire response resources to ensure the safety of Texans and impacted communities,&#8221; Abbott said. &#8220;Thank you to our federal partners at FEMA for quickly approving Texas&#8217; request for grant assistance as we continue to fight these dangerous wildfires. I encourage Texans in affected areas to heed the guidance of local officials and first responders and to take all necessary precautions to keep your family and loved ones safe. We continue to work alongside TDEM, local officials, and emergency response personnel to provide all available resources to protect our fellow Texans.&#8221;
Abbott&#8217;s office said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) request for the fires, which means the state will be eligible to be reimbursed by the federal government for up to 75% of the costs associated with fighting those fires.
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&#8220;According to the Texas A&amp;M Forest Service, high volume of dry, freeze cured grasses will continue to support fire spread today,&#8221; Abbott added. &#8220;As we approach the weekend, the fire environment will trend warmer and drier, resulting in the potential for additional wildfire activity across the Texas Panhandle this weekend. Portions of South Texas continue to face increased wildfire risk, as well as East Texas, amid active burns. Additionally, the Texas A&amp;M Forest Service raised the Wildland Fire Preparedness Level to Level 3 today due to an increase in current and expected wildfire activity over the next several days.&#8221;
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The Smokehouse Creek fire continues to rage in the Texas Panhandle. The fire has been updated to 850,000 acres and is at 3% containment. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TXwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TXwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/FQCEZr7HMV">pic.twitter.com/FQCEZr7HMV</a>
&mdash; WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1762991076556546433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Smokehouse Creek Fire In Texas Panhandle

Massive Fire Erupts In Texas; Second Largest In State History

Fire

Natural Disaster

A group of red states filed a legal brief in support of Texas Governor Greg Abbot (R-TX) on Friday amid his battle with the Biden administration to keep buoys intended to deter illegal immigration in a portion of the Rio Grande. 
Led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, more than 20 Republican attorneys general filed an <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/USA-v.-Abbott-En-Banc-Amicus-Brief-Final7344146.1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amicus brief</a> to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals backing Abbott’s bid to keep the barrier in the river. Abbott was sued by the Biden administration last year over the barriers and a federal judge ruled in favor of the federal government. Texas was able to  appeal and will be able <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/fifth-circuit-buoy-lawsuit-rio-grade-18613406.php#:~:text=Antonio%20Express%2DNews-,Gov.,the%20barrier%20from%20the%20river.">to keep</a> the barrier in while the case plays out at the appeals level. 
The brief says that the Biden administration has not done its job to protect the border and that Texas has a right to defend itself.
“The Constitution  guarantees the States’ right to self-defense expressly and as a natural  incident of the States’ status as sovereign entities,” a copy of the brief obtained by The Daily Wire said. “Here, however, the  federal government has sought to disable Texas’s exercise of that right  by claiming that it violates a federal law focused on the navigability of  the nation’s waterways, a law that does not expressly limit the States’  ability to engage in self-defense.”
The attorneys general go on to rip into the Biden administration for its policies at the border. 
“The current administration has not only failed to secure the border, but also has willfully enacted policies that have encouraged illegal immigration. The result: millions of illegal aliens crossing the southern border and continuing into the interior,” they wrote. &#8220;A flood of illegal immigration across the Southern  border that has brought with it crime, human trafficking, and hundreds  of thousands of fentanyl deaths to the people of this country. In both  scope and effect, the wave of illegal migrants pouring across the border  is like an invasion.&#8221;
In addition to Kansas, the states who signed onto the brief included Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Virginia.
The brief argues that the court should allow Texas to keep the barrier in the Rio Grande because states have a constitutional right to self defense and that the Rivers and Harbors Act does not limit Texas’s ability to defend itself. The Biden administration has argued that the Rivers and Harbors Act prohibits Texas from putting any barriers in the Rio Grande. 
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told The Daily Wire that the Volunteer State had helped file the brief because the state was being impacted by the border crisis. He said the case was an urgent policy matter as well as fundamentally being about constitutional principles. 
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“It’s not just important because immigration is important, we obviously have a real problem with illegal immigration right now, just the scale and the volume of people coming in and the inability of our existing institutions to deal with that,” Skrmetti said. “But separately this is an important matter of state sovereignty. We have a constitutional system that has both the federal government and the state governments as sovereign governments. And if a state’s not able to defend itself then it loses a key part of that sovereignty.” 
Skrmetti pointed out that state’s have a right to protect themselves from invasion, saying that unrestricted migration was “functionally an invasion” and could have detrimental effects on the country. 
“The federal government has abdicated its responsibility,” he said. “The Constitution is not a suicide pact and the states have a right and an obligation to engage in self-defense.”

Court Allows Texas Border Buoys Temporary Stay

Red States Hit Biden Admin With New Legal Brief Backing Texas’ Actions To Secure The Border

Kansas

Tennessee

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