Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush says it is time to “declare an invasion” of the Lone Star State as the migration crisis along the southern border continues to surge ahead of President Biden’s Friday virtual meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
“Texas has been left with no choice, we must assert our sovereignty and immediately declare an invasion of our state under the US Constitution,” Bush posted in a Thursday Twitter thread.
“Texas national guard and DPS troopers are already deployed to the border yet are handcuffed by our current federal policies.”
Bush – the grandson of 41st President George H.W. Bush, nephew of 43rd President George W. Bush, and the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – accused Biden of abandoning Texas.
“Joe Biden has abandoned the state of Texas, leaving our communities to suffer the crippling effects of a mass invasion perpetrated by known terrorists, drug cartels, and human smugglers,” the Attorney General candidate wrote before blasting his opponent.
“Attorney General Ken Paxton has routinely failed to secure our border, refusing to make legal arguments that give Governor Abbott the backing to take such action and refusing to deploy legal resources to Border County DA offices,” Bush continued.
“He has consistently followed in the shadows of other states less impacted by open border policies, content to fall back and let others lead the fight. TX needs an AG who is willing to take every action available to secure our state and restore Texas Justice.”
Bush’s stark declaration came only one day ahead of Biden’s meeting with the Mexican president – during which the two are expected to discuss migration security and economic cooperation as thousands of immigrants continue to flow across the US-Mexico border.
Biden and Obrador are scheduled to hold a phone call at around 1 p.m.
Friday’s meeting is the first discussion between the two leaders since they spoke in November.
Since then, the number of migrant encounters along the border has skyrocketed from 174,846 in November to more than 221,000 in March – the highest number in any single month since Biden took office.
Migration numbers are only expected to soar higher in the coming weeks, if the Biden administration successfully lifts the Trump-era Title 42 health order.
On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its intention to let the policy expire, which has allowed border officials to quickly expel migrants without hearing asylum claims.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the move.
It is unclear if the administration will be successful, after a Louisiana federal judge this week temporarily paused the move. A hearing has been scheduled for May 13.
