Several county officials in Texas sounded off on the high costs their communities are bearing from illegal immigration in their small towns, declaring an “invasion” at the border Tuesday.
Judges, mayors, attorneys and sheriffs in Uvalde, Kinney and Goliad counties asked Gov. Greg Abbott to step up and formally make the “invasion” declaration, warning they can’t continue to divert their limited resources to the overwhelming situation at the border. The group made the “invasion” declaration themselves. (RELATED: County Officials In Texas To Declare Border Crisis An ‘Invasion’)
“America doesn’t know, they don’t know what’s happening here. They could stop this thing this hour. They could stop it now. I don’t have the guts, but they have a plan. And their plan is to keep bringing them in open borders. If we keep our open borders, we’re not going to have a nation,” Bracketville Mayor Eric Martinez said during the announcement.
“This is not a situation where we’re helping these migrants come across. It’s a situation where many are dying along the way. There’s a lot of carnage left in their way. So we’re here today to ask the Governor to do more,” Goliad County Judge Mike Bennett said.
Bracketville, Texas, rancher Brad Whitaker has been dealing with the issue since Biden came into office, and he told The Daily Caller News Foundation that he agrees with the declaration.
“We don’t know who’s getting by the Border Patrol. It’s very unsafe right now, they’re traveling in numbers and could be more dangerous,” Whitaker told TheDCNF.
“Most ranchers are out there working by themselves. They have also been draining my water tanks. And we’re in a drought situation. I have to check the tanks everyday,” Whitaker said, adding that he gets no answer when he calls Border Patrol.
To the “it’s not an invasion crowd,” heavily armed Mexican cartels are pushing human beings & fentanyl for profit into America in violation of our sovereignty while expanding their reach into Texas at the expense, increased danger, & harm to Texans. #EndTheInvasion
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) July 5, 2022
The officials hope that Abbott will invoke Texas law as well as the U.S. Constitution articles referencing state’s rights to countering “invasions.”
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence,” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution states.
Additionally, Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the Constitution grants states the ability to declare war against an “invasion.”
Neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS nor Abbott’s office responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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