Build a wall. Tear it down. Build a wall. Tear it down. This has, more or less, been the exchange at our southern border between the state of Texas and the U.S. federal government. 

In an effort to curb illegal immigration from the U.S.–Mexican border, Texas, led by Governor Greg Abbott, has attempted to line its border with barbed wire. The Biden administration, however, has continually attempted to cut the razor wire down, citing human rights concerns. 

In mid-January, Texas had had enough and a Texas National Guard member denied federal Border Patrol access to Shelby Park, where Governor Abbott had just rolled out more wire fencing. On January 15, the Biden administration submitted an official filing to the Supreme Court, detailing the migrant drownings and citing the threat that the wire fencing poses to would-be illegal immigrants. The conservative majority in the Supreme Court voted 5-to-4 in favor of Biden’s administration, allowing federal officials to cut down and remove certain barriers along the Texas border with Mexico. On X (formerly Twitter), Governor Abbott said, “This is not over. Texas’ razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages. I will continue to defend Texas’ constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property.”

This incident only increased tensions between Biden and Abbott, who in retaliation to Biden’s actions shipped hundreds of buses of illegal immigration to northern cities. While many democratic northern cities are pro-immigration, the large influx of migrants has put a strain on cities like New York, Chicago and Denver. As a result, many, including Republicans and Democrats, believe that Biden is not doing enough to curb illegal immigration. Just a few weeks ago, to add fuel to the fire, illegal immigrants were caught on camera brutally attacking NYPD officers. Much to public dismay, they were not only released on bail, but after being released, they arrogantly flipped their middle fingers to reporters while smiling and laughing. New York Governor Kathy Hochul responded to the situation saying, “Get them all and [deport] them” – they have since fled the city. 

Biden’s inaction comes with poor timing as the 2024 election in November looms. More recently, Biden has pushed a so-called “bipartisan” bill that aims to bolster border security; however, the $118 billion “bipartisan” border bill that the President is pushing only provides $20.2 billion for border security while including an additional $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, $10 billion for Gaza, $4.8 billion to support U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific facing aggression from China and another $2.4 billion to the U.S. Central Command for conflicts in the Red Sea. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has declared it “dead on arrival” should it reach his chamber. 

At this point in time, any bill to enact true border reform seems to be stymied. On February 13th, the House voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (by a final tally of 214-213), whom the Republican majority partially blamed, along with Biden, for the border crisis. Returning to the issue of Texas and the federal government and looking forward, one thing that will undoubtedly remain true is best put by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: “Texas will not surrender.”