President Joe Biden is facing renewed calls to federalize the Texas National Guard after Governor Greg Abbott published an explosive open letter accusing the White House of having "broken the compact between the United States and the States" with its immigration policy.
The calls come amid a surge in tensions between federal and Texan authorities, with a Supreme Court ruling on Monday giving federal agents permission to remove razor-wire from the Texas-Mexico border that had been installed on Abbott's orders.
In a response on Wednesday, Abbott released the letter reiterating his claim that illegal migration constitutes an "invasion" of Texas and in response said he had invoked "Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself," which "is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary."
Greg Abbott at the Texas State Capitol on June 8, 2023, in Austin, Texas, and Joe Biden at the United Auto Workers (UAW) union conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., on January 24,... Greg Abbott at the Texas State Capitol on June 8, 2023, in Austin, Texas, and Joe Biden at the United Auto Workers (UAW) union conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., on January 24, 2024. Two House Democrats from Texas are urging the president to federalize the Texas National Guard. More BRANDON BELL/SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY
The letter claimed Biden had "violated his oath" and "instructed his agencies to ignore federal statues that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants." It said the impact of federal policy "is to illegally allow their en masse parole into the United States."
Responding on X, formerly Twitter, Texas House Democrat Rep. Greg Casar backed an earlier call by his colleague Rep. Joaquin Castro for Biden to federalize the Texas National Guard.
He wrote: "Greg Abbott has continued to use political stunts and inflammatory language to advance his own agenda, violating the Constitution and endangering both U.S. citizens and asylum seekers.
"Abbott is following the Donald Trump playbook: make immigration harder and more dangerous, so asylum seekers are pushed into the hands of cartels and the system remains broken.
"I agree with Joaquin Castro: if Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, President Biden needs to establish sole federal control over the National Guard." The Supreme Court ruling allowing federal authorities to dismantle border fences was made on Monday, not Tuesday as Casar implied.
I agree with @JoaquinCastrotx : if Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, @POTUS needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard. (3/6) — Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) January 24, 2024
On Tuesday, Rep. Castro shared an X post from Abbott vowing not to "back down" over the border, to which he added: "Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border.
"If Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, President Biden needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now."
The call was also supported by Anthony Michael Kreis, an expert in constitutional law who teaches at Georgia State University. He posted: "Joe Biden should respond to Greg Abbott by federalizing the Texas National Guard."
Joe Biden should respond to Greg Abbott by federalizing the Texas National Guard. — Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) January 24, 2024
Newsweek contacted Abbott's office and the White House outside normal working hours requesting comment, by telephone, voicemail message and email.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton posted on X that he stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Abbott, his fellow Republican, adding: "I stand ready to bringing any legal means necessary to defend Texas."
State National Guards ordinarily fall under the control of their respective governors, but they can be federalized by a mechanism known as Title 10 status, which places them at the direct disposal of the president and defense secretary, with active duty officers taking over day-to-day command.
In 1957, the Eisenhower administration federalized the Arkansas National Guard after the state's governor ordered them to prevent Black students from attending the Little Rock Central High School during the segregation era. Under federal control, the Arkansas National Guard, together with federal troops from the 101st Airborne Division, instead ensured the students were able to attend the school.
The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) is campaigning for the Lone Star State to break away from the United States and become a fully independent country, using what it regards as the federal government's failure to control the Texan-Mexican border as one justification.
If Biden does federalize the Texas National Guard, Daniel Miller, the TNM president, is urging Abbott to massively expand and militarize the Texas State Guard and deploy them to the southern border instead.
Speaking to Newsweek,Tray Gober, a Texas-based trial attorney and managing partner at law firm Lee, Gober & Reyna, said it would be a mistake for Abbott to defy Monday's Supreme Court ruling on removing razor-wire from the border.
"Supreme Court rulings are the law of the land. Federal law is supreme to any conflicting state law. It's not unprecedented for state or local officials to refuse to comply with a Supreme Court ruling. Two historical examples come to mind," Gober said.
"After the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and white students to be unconstitutional, several Southern states resisted implementing desegregation. In response, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent in the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the court's decision and protect the students.
"Decades later, Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Her refusal led to legal action against her, and she was briefly jailed for contempt of court."
The attorney concluded: "Hopefully, Texas Governor Abbott will put a higher priority on his oath to support the Constitution of the United States rather than observing a political strategy."
Update 01/25/24, 10:32 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from trial attorney Daniel Miller and remarks by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.