Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he will invoke the “invasion” clause of both the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution to combat the overwhelming ongoing illegal immigration in the state.
“I have invoked the invasion clauses of the United States and Texas constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented steps to defend our state against invasion,” Abbott announced via social media on Tuesday.
The decree signed by the Republican governor interprets the massive migratory wave that is hitting the state as a foreign invasion of its borders, and demands that the Federal Government is failing to comply with its constitutional mandate to defend Texas.
The “invasion clause” the Governor refers to refers to Article IV, Section 4 of the US Constitution, which states that the federal State “shall guarantee to all the States of this Union a republican form of government and will protect each of them against invasion.”
In this way, it forces Biden to deploy the National Guard in Texas and put it under the command of Governor Greg Abbott, which is stipulated in Article 4, Section 7 of the Texas Constitution, which also establishes that the governor, as commander in chief of the military forces of the state, “he will have the power to summon the militia to execute the laws of the state, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.”
“I am using that constitutional authority and other authorizations and executive orders to keep our state and country safe,” he said, saying the actions will allow him to deploy the National Guard to “safeguard, repel and push back immigrants” who try to cross the border illegally.
I invoked the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. & Texas Constitutions to fully authorize Texas to take unprecedented measures to defend our state against an invasion.
I'm using that constitutional authority, & other authorization & Executive Orders to keep our state & country safe: pic.twitter.com/2Jt5HEMgp5
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 15, 2022
The governor included a list of intended actions that are covered by the clause, including activating National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety personnel to safeguard the border and prevent immigrants from crossing the border illegally.
With information from La Derecha Diario