Tucker Carlson Calls on ‘Men of Texas’ To Defend Border

Tucker Carlson appeared to question the “men of Texas” after America’s highest court ruled that miles of barbed wire installed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott could be removed.

Justices ruled 5-4 in favor of the Biden administration, which argued that the area of Eagle Pass should be protected by measures the federal government agreed with, rather than Texas, in order to prevent Border Patrol agents from being granted access to key areas.

Texas said instruments such as razor wire and other measures are useful in keeping people from crossing the border.

A spokesman for Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Newsweek: “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.”

Carlson said later on X: “So it’s unanimous: everyone in power, from the White House, to the hedge fund managers, to the Supreme Court of the United States has decided to destroy the country by allowing it to be invaded.

“That leaves the population to defend itself. Where are the men of Texas? Why aren’t they protecting their state and the nation?”

Newsweek has approached Carlson for comment via direct message on X.

Fears of vigilante groups manning the Texas border have been raised by non-government agencies (NGO) previously and include concern about Texas HB20.

The legislation would create a ‘Border Protection Unit.’ Republicans had moved the attached language regarding the provision to an amendment of House Bill 7 after House Bill 20 failed to pass in May last year, but the State Senate couldn’t agree on the bill in its final shape.

Under the provisions, citizen members of the unit would have the power to “detain persons crossing the Texas-Mexico border unlawfully” and arrest them.

Human Rights Watch slammed the idea, saying, “People serving in the unit would be granted criminal and civil immunity against claims of wrongdoing.”

The NGO added that the provisions would give “Texas police power to vigilantes.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has said it is neighboring Arizona that has been a “hub” for vigilantes looking to police the border, but that “Texas has recently experienced considerable activity.”

Appearances of vigilante groups or lone actors relying on their convictions remain a sensitive topic. Governor Greg Abbott was heavily criticized in 2019 when a gunman shot 23 people in El Paso.

A campaign leaflet for the governor appeared that year called on people to “defend” Texas and “take matters into our own hands.” Abbott’s campaign said it was just normal campaign language.

The gunman said he was concerned with a “Hispanic invasion,” but made no mention of the governor.

The border situation in Texas remains a contentious and divisive issue, but at the forefront of voter’s minds in an important election year.

Abbott has continued to push Operation Lone Star, which sees state troopers and the National Guard deployed, along with the use of barbed wire and stacked shipping containers at the border.

This policy has led to accusations from the likes of a Houston Chronicle editorial that Abbott is “endangering lives at the border.”

Newsweek has approached Abbott’s office for comment via email.

He was condemned after Customs and Border and Protection (CBP) officials were allegedly prevented from approaching a group of migrants, some of whom later drowned, including a woman and two children, aged 8 and 10.

The Texas Military Department said in a press release that reports of CBP agents asking for access to save the migrants in distress were “inaccurate.”

Abbott’s Texas has also been busing or flying migrants to Democrat-controlled cities elsewhere in the U.S. Analysis by the Marshall Project, ProPublica and the Texas Tribune says the overall cost of Lone Star is around $2.5 million a week.

Abbott says the project is to tackle the “crisis at our southern border.”