‘An invasion of our country’: KY GOP pressures Beshear on Texas-Mexico border

Among simmering tensions between Texas and the federal government over border security, Kentucky Republicans are increasingly calling on Gov. Andy Beshear to speak out in support of the Lone Star State.

Beshear, a Democrat, responded in turn Tuesday by alleging lawmakers have put forth resolutions that “are based on a legal theory that was previously used to support secession.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the federal government can remove razor wire installed along the U.S.-Mexico border by Texas officials. In turn, 25 Republican governors signed onto a letter affirming the “constitutional right to self-defense” of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott.

Meanwhile, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has vowed to continue erecting fencing along the border, regardless of the Supreme Court.

Three resolutions were filed in the Kentucky legislature Monday to affirm support for Texas’ right to secure its southern border with Mexico:

• House Resolution 57, sponsored by Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, urges Beshear to “express support for Gov. Greg Abbott and the State of Texas in their efforts to secure the border.” The resolution says President Joe Biden has “failed” to force immigration laws, “resulting in an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants” entering the country.

• House Resolution 63, sponsored by Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, calls on Biden to “repel the invasion at the United States’ southern border.” It says Biden should “bring home American National Guardsmen and women from undeclared wars so that they may be committed to defending the United States’ southern border.”

• Senate Concurrent Resolution 111, sponsored by Sen. Johnnie Turner, R-Harlan, also calls on Beshear to express his support for Abbott. Turner’s resolution says the large number of migrants and the Border Patrol’s inability to adequately vet and process them “leaves the country vulnerable to increases in crime, terrorism, drug overdose deaths, housing shortages, human trafficking, and the potential for unprecedented harm.”

These resolutions, if passed, are nonbinding and do not carry the force of law.

Heath’s resolution was heard at a special meeting of the House State Government Committee Tuesday afternoon and then on the House floor about an hour later. It passed the House on a 77-17 vote, largely along party lines.

“Some of us look at (it) as an invasion. They’re coming across in such large numbers,” Heath told the committee. “This isn’t just illegal border crossing anymore. This is an invasion of our country. And when that happens, there are some state rights that come into play.”

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, said backing Abbott and Texas would be supporting the decision to buck the Supreme Court.

“As I read about this proposition from the 25 Republican governors, I’m reflecting on the oath I took that I would support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the commonwealth,” Bojanowski said. “I don’t think that we can discuss this resolution without having a discussion that Gov. Abbott is intentionally defying a ruling of the Supreme Court, and that violates our rule of law and could impact, actually, our democracy as a whole.

“I don’t disagree that there needs to be reform regarding immigration, but I think that supporting a governor who is not following the guidance of our Supreme Court is a slippery slope.”

Speaking in support of the resolution on the House floor, Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, said he believes action is required at the border. In doing so, he hearkened back to the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, in which more than a dozen Kentuckians were killed by the Mexican army during the Texas Revolution.

“(In) 1845, Texas became a state because of people coming across the border, they had to become a state,” he said. “They couldn’t protect themselves. So I encourage all Kentuckians to remember the Alamo and back this resolution.”

Bentley’s comments were met with several cheers of “hear, hear!” from his House colleagues.

In response to a Herald-Leader inquiry about the resolutions, Beshear said he has “always avoided pick-a-side politics, and in the last election, the people of Kentucky showed they are exhausted with this constant ‘us-versus-them.’”

“Kentucky has sent nearly 850 National Guard members to the southern border,” Beshear said. “In doing so, we answered the call of our country, not the clamor of the latest political outrage. Last year, I thanked our soldiers for their service at the border and awarded them the Governor’s Outstanding Unit Citation.

“Finally, I have concerns that today’s resolutions are based on a legal theory that was previously used to support secession. I am a proud American who will always support our one nation under God.”

In response to a question from the Herald-Leader about what more, if anything, they’d like to see Beshear do about the border, Rep. Rebecca Raymer, R-Morgantown, said she wouldn’t speak to what the governor should do. Raymer co-sponsored Heath’s resolution.

“But I think he should look at what we can do,” Raymer said. “That would be an executive branch decision, but those things would be within his power. I would like to see him assess that situation and for us to do more if we could do more.”

‘Kentucky has become a border state’

The Republican Party of Kentucky on Jan. 25 called on Beshear to put his “liberal political ambitions aside” and stand with Abbott.

“We may not be a border state, but the absolute inaction by President Biden is giving us border state problems,” Executive Director Sarah Van Wallaghen said in a statement.

On Monday, Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman announced he was joining a coalition of attorneys general from across the country in writing to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, underscoring “Texas’ duty to defend its families from the ongoing invasion.”

“President Biden’s failed open border policy gives drug cartels and criminals a free pass to pour their deadly poison into our country,” Coleman said in the statement. “As a result, Kentucky has become a border state, and our children are at risk.”

Beshear on Friday posted to X, the website formerly known as Twitter, a reminder that the Guard “has been serving at our southern border for years” under the administrations of Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“They also have been deployed in the Middle East and in Europe,” he wrote on his campaign account. “We continue to support our Guard in all they do.”