Lauren Moye, FISM News
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Texas counties are no longer waiting for federal or state approval to declare the unprecedented high number of recent border crossings an invasion.
Following on the heels of a Texas GOP convention where grassroots Republicans voted to make illegal immigration a legislative priority and at the urging of a state-level leader, a ninth county has declared Texas is under an invasion. Wise County Commissioner’s Court voted unanimously yesterday to invoke a constitutional right to declare the invasion while urging Lone Star State Governor Greg Abbott to follow suit.
The county is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area.
Eight other counties declared an invasion earlier this year, along with one mayor and multiple judges. The Texas GOP has encouraged more counties to speak up, adding additional pressure on Abbott.
“Though securing the border is the federal government’s responsibility, the Constitution empowers state governments to act when our federal government refuses,” said Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi in an opinion piece published last Tuesday.
Rinaldi cited Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which authorizes States to use military force without congressional approval if there is an invasion or imminent threat.
Bill Melugin, a correspondent for Fox News, reported that there were 2,200 border crossings yesterday in just the Del Rio Sector:
UPDATE: In just the last 24 hours, there have been a staggering 2,202 illegal crossings here in the Del Rio sector, a DHS source tells @FoxNews.
That’s 2,200 people in ONE day, in ONE single sector on the southern border.
401,499 here since 10/1, up 100% over last year. https://t.co/EoiNXZ4XGp
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 15, 2022
Customs and Border Patrol data confirms a staggering surge in border patrol encounters in the sector over the past few years although this data doesn’t reflect current numbers. In the 2020 fiscal year beginning in March, Del Rio saw 1,166 unaccompanied children. This number jumped to 3,431 in the 2021FY for a 194% increase. Family unit encounters jumped by 138% for a total of 11,148. Single adult encounters rose 388% to 53,991.
The increase from FY21 to the current fiscal year is even more alarming if Melugin’s report is accurate. The numbers recorded for FY21 add up to 58,588, which amounts to roughly 161 apprehensions or expulsions per day. That’s nothing compared to the over 2,000 daily crossings he has witnessed.
The steady flow of people over the border has turned some life-long Democrats against their party. Two of the judges who have signed invasion declarations, both with Hispanic heritage, will now run as Republicans in November because of President Joe Biden’s inaction on the border, as FISM previously reported.
Abbott tweeted a video interview with one of those judges on July 25:
I'm in Fort Stockton tonight with Judge Cinderela Guevara!
She was a life long Democrat until the Democratic Party walked away from her.
She's now running as a Republican because she supports our mission to secure the border & the future of the Lone Star State. pic.twitter.com/x93U6YKaaq
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 26, 2022
So far, Abbott has challenged the federal government to do more to protect the citizens of his state. On July 7, he signed an executive order to empower the National Guard and state Department of Public Safety to apprehend illegal immigrants for return to the border. His state has also begun construction of a border wall despite the Biden Administration’s refusal to continue the federal government project. He has also had migrants bussed to both Washington D.C. and New York.
However, both Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have refused so far to declare a formal invasion. Instead, they call it a “border crisis.”
“Texas Republicans are calling on [Abbott] to take his commitment to defending our border a step farther, declare an invasion, and direct state officers to deliver illegal aliens back over the border. This is necessary to defend the safety and sovereignty of our state,” stated Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi.
Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, has said she plans to declare a border invasion if she wins the November election and takes office in January.