Texas has continued to defy President Joe Biden on the border issue and is offering cash for Texas Military Department members to man the border.
The Lone Star State is seeking “to deploy border security assets to high threat areas to deny criminal organizations the ability to illegally move drugs and people into Texas,” according to TMD’s website.
This comes amid ongoing tensions between Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over the border with Mexico. On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration and held that federal Border Patrol agents were authorized to remove the razor wire installed under Abbott’s orders near the border city of Eagle Pass.
Volunteers will work with the Texas Military Department full-time for up to $55 per day, according to the agency’s website.
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The volunteers must already be members of the TMD in an initiative that is part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star to combat the rise in illegal immigration.
Biden vs Abbott
The call for more volunteers is part of a showdown between the state and the Biden administration over the issue of the border.
The Biden administration has argued the wire, installed as part of Operation Lone Star, restricts Border Patrol agents from accessing parts of the border. Abbott, meanwhile, has slammed “Biden’s reckless open-border policies,” and tweeted after the Supreme Court’s decision that the wire is an “effective deterrent against the illegal border crossings.”
In apparent defiance of the court’s decision, he said: “We continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.”
In a letter on January 24 after the ruling, the Department of Homeland Security demanded “full access” to the border by January 26, CNN reported. The letter, addressed to Texas officials, said members of the federal Customs and Border Protection units have been blocked from accessing the area, per CNN.
Newsweek has approached Abbott’s office to ask if a new call for volunteers has been issued as well as the Biden administration out of hours for comment via email.
In a statement provided to Newsweek shortly after the court’s decision, a spokesperson for Abbott’s office said: “The absence of razor wire and other deterrence strategies encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry, while making the job of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers more dangerous and difficult. This case is ongoing, and Governor Abbott will continue fighting to defend Texas’ property and its constitutional authority to secure the border.”
Border Units
In May last year, Texas Republicans tried to create another ‘Border Protection Unit’ that caused non-governmental organizations to raise fears of vigilante groups.
Republicans had added attached language regarding the protection unit to an amendment of House Bill 7 after House Bill 20—proposing the “establishment of the Border Protection Unit”—failed to pass.
The State Senate was unable to agree on the bill, which, according to the Texas legislature website, was “Relating to measures to address public safety threats,” in its final form.
Citizen members of the unit would have the power to “detain persons crossing the Texas-Mexico border unlawfully” and arrest them, under the provisions.
Human Rights Watch expressed concerns and said: “People serving in the unit would be granted criminal and civil immunity against claims of wrongdoing.” The non-profit said that the provisions would give “Texas police power to vigilantes.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.