Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said on Tuesday that Texas should continue to defend its southern border despite the Supreme Court’s decision to grant an emergency request from the Biden administration.
Roy said that the state had a duty to defend its citizens and should continue to do so after the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that razor wire placed at the border by the state, meant to deter illegal immigration, could be removed by federal agents. The razor wire was at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, a location that has experienced large surges of illegal immigrants.
“They have a duty under the Constitution… and every other norm of leadership of any sovereign state, to protect your citizens, period, full stop. There is no exception to that,” Roy told Fox News. “And if the Supreme Court wants to ignore that truth, which a slim majority did, Texas still had the duty, Texas leaders still have the duty, to defend their people.”
“It’s like, if someone’s breaking into your house, and the court says, ‘Oh, sorry. You can’t defend yourself.’ What do you tell the court? You tell the court to go to hell, you defend yourself and then figure it out later,” he added.
In a post to X, Roy said that political leaders would do more if the crisis were affecting Connecticut and not Texas. “Texas should do what it sees fit to secure the border in the face of federal abandonment,” he said.
If this were happening daily in Greenwich, CT and not Leakey, TX we’d see more politicians lifting a finger.
Texas should do what it sees fit to secure the border in the face of federal abandonment #TX21 #HR2 pic.twitter.com/EJAosMCtJz
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 23, 2024
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have both promised to continue fighting the Biden administration to curb the wave of illegal crossings.
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“This is not over,” Abbott said, responding to the ruling. “Texas’ razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages. I will continue to defend Texas’ constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property.”
The case over the razor wire remains ongoing. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments on February 7.
“The Supreme Court’s temporary order allows Biden to continue his illegal effort to aid the foreign invasion of America,” Paxton said. “The destruction of Texas’s border barriers will not help enforce the law or keep American citizens safe. This fight is not over, and I look forward to defending our state’s sovereignty.”
The Biden administration has also sued Texas over placing barriers in the Rio Grande River and a new state law that allows the state to arrest illegal immigrants for trespassing.