Congressman Jodey Arrington Says States Need to Assert Their Power to Protect Their Borders

Congressman Jodey Arrington (R- TX-19), pictured, left, with Congressmen Ronny Jackson and Louie Gohmert in a March 2021 border trip, is continuing to speak out against the increasing problems with illegal immigration in Texas and the rest of the southern border states.

Thursday, Arrington published on op-ed on FOXNews.com: "Biden's Border Crisis is Hammering our States. Time to Affirm Their Sovereign Powers"

In the opening paragraphs, Arrington writes:

Border communities, however, are experiencing an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration that is anything but “normal.” These communities and their residents have a front-row seat to an utterly terrifying scene: 950% increase in border apprehensions; 3,000% increase in arrests of convicted sex offenders; seizures of enough fentanyl to kill every American four times over, and an unfazed federal government that is failing to address the horror at our border.

On top of their obsessive tirade to repeal every policy with President Trump’s name on it, the Biden administration has crippled our immigration enforcement and refused to uphold the rule of law. President Biden’s unilateral unraveling of the Trump policies that gave us more secure borders, safer communities, and a respect for our nation’s laws is already having catastrophic consequences.

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Congressman Arrington also cited a portion of the Constitution, that he says gives Texas, and other states, the ability to act unilaterally to protect their border.

The Founding Fathers explicitly empowered our states with the right to combat this crisis and do what our federal government has failed to do – defend our border and protect our citizens.

Article I Section 10 of the Constitution gives states the explicit authority to defend themselves from an invasion when the federal government fails to do so by expressly guaranteeing states the sovereign power to repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from overwhelming and “imminent danger.”

Because of the ingenious nature of our Constitution, states don’t have to be passive victims of President Biden’s border security failures. States have the inherent constitutionally protected right to defend themselves and their citizens.

Next week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott will be making a highly-publicized trip to the Texas-Mexico border with former President Donald Trump. Abbott recently announced initial plans for Texas to build its own border wall.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read Congressman Arrington's complete op-ed. Hopefully between the actions of Congress, Governor Abbott and the Texas Legislature, the problems with securing our southern border can be solved.