Kris Kobach joins coalition of Republican AGs over Joe Biden's border spat with Texas

Attorney General Kris Kobach signed a letter with attorneys general from 25 other states supporting Texas’ erection of barriers at the border to deter unlawful crossings.

Texas and the federal government have sparred over the state’s efforts to police the border since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott created Operation Lone Star, which used state money to construct portions of border walls, deployed state troopers and the National Guard to the border and placed razor wire on the banks of the Rio Grande.

Texas sued the federal government in October after Border Patrol agents dismantled razor wire strung along portions of the Rio Grande. On Jan. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents can access the state’s border and dismantle obstructing infrastructure at their discretion, upholding long-standing rulings that the federal government is the sole authority for policing the border.

The Supreme Court’s order allows federal agents to destroy barriers but doesn’t prohibit Texas from building them.

Last week, Republicans rallied to support Texas’ border enforcement. Twenty-five of the nation’s 26 Republican governors signed a statement backing Abbott and saying states have a constitutional right to self-defense when under an invasion.

Tuesday’s joint statement from state AGs highlights the more than six million entries into the country through the southern border since Biden took office. It cites Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which says states can avoid congressional approval on forming compacts and military action when they are “actually invaded.”

“If President Biden wants to stop the border crisis, he can start right now, today, by enforcing existing immigration laws, by reinstating the remain-in-Mexico policy that is required by federal law and by building the wall," Kobach said in a news release. "Instead, Biden has taken an America-last position — allowing illegal aliens, illicit drugs, and human traffickers to pour into the country.”

Some of the claims in Kobach’s news release don’t align with data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He said an increasing number of people on the terrorist watch list were detected at the southwest border, but data that goes back to 2017 found more detections in 2017, 2018 and 2019 than in any year since. There were more detections in 2023 than in previous years, but over the last several years they’re much more likely to be found when entering from Canada.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, argued that illegal border crossings don’t meet the definition of an invasion, which must include entry and enmity. It argued that to be an invasion, those crossing the border must be doing so with the intent, organization and scale to overthrow or curtail the sovereignty of the state.

“Once the federal government makes a decision regarding the situation of a particular state, that decision is final. It is therefore incumbent on states that believe they have been invaded by hostile bands to seek immediate aid and direction from Congress, which retains the ultimate legal authority in matters relating to war,” Texas Policy Institute’s Joshua Treviño wrote.

The southwest border is the most dangerous area for migrants in the world, accounting for half of all migrant deaths in 2022 according to the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy group pushing for immigration reforms. At least two people have been found dead by barriers erected by Texas so far.

Under Biden, Immigration and Customs Enforcement relaxed restrictions for undocumented immigrants convicted of minor offenses like DUIs, property crimes or drug possession, halted construction on the border wall and reaffirmed protections for DACA recipients. He’s also maintained Trump-era policies unpopular with migrant advocates, such as Title 42, which can expedite the process of deportation.

Biden said the border has been broken for a long time and advocated for a bill that includes funding for 1,300 Border Patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers and 100 fentanyl-detecting machines. It would also give him authority to “shut down” the border, which he said he’d do the day it passed.

“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said in a press release. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”

Reports from Washington said the bill is in the final stages of negotiations, but it's expected to have a tough time passing the House — especially after former President Donald Trump called for Republicans to reject it.

In Kansas, there may still be more from legislators on the issue. Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said he is "actively working to take action in support of Texas and their right to secure their southern border."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kris Kobach joins Republican AGs in Joe Biden's border spat with Texas