Tennessee Governor Bill Lee confirmed on Thursday that he supports Texas Governor Greg Abbott in his standoff with the Biden administration over Texas’ defense of its southern border.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had the authority to remove border defenses erected by Texas to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the southern border, Abbott invoked the state’s right to self defense on Wednesday, declaring the Biden administration failed in its duty to protect the country and President Joe Biden “violated his oath to faithfully executive immigration laws enacted by Congress.”
In a post to X, the website formerly known as Twitter, the Tennessee governor expressed his support for Abbott and said inaction from Biden and the federal government is putting Americans in danger.
“The federal government’s failure to secure our nation’s southern border is jeopardizing the safety of all Americans.” Lee confirmed, “Tennessee has always stood with Texas, and we always will.”
The federal government’s failure to secure our nation’s southern border is jeopardizing the safety of all Americans. Tennessee has always stood with Texas, and we always will.
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) January 25, 2024
The Tennessee Star contacted Lee’s office to ask whether the governor would consider sending the Tennessee National Guard to support Texas, if the request was made by Abbott, but did not receive an immediate response.
With Lee’s statement, Tennessee joins a number of states with governors who made remarks supportive of Abbott’s effort to secure the border. States with governors who made statements in support of Abbott also include Montana, South Dakota, Virginia, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida.
In Abbott’s Wednesday post to X, the Texas governor also highlighted the Biden administration’s instructions for border enforcement to “ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants” and accused the president of enticing “illegal immigrants away from the 28 legal entry points along the State’s southern border,” further undermining the border’s integrity.
Abbott wrote that Biden’s “failure” to “fulfill the duties imposed” by the U.S. Constitution allow Texas to invoke its right to self-defense, and added, “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion… to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.”
“That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,” Abbott declared.
The makeshift border defense in Texas came only weeks after a Homeland Security watchdog concluded that “physical barriers work” and are an effective way to lower illegal immigration into the country.
“The main takeaway from the audit is this: Physical barriers work. They successfully impede illegal traffic into the U.S. and do so at a cost-effective rate,” said the organization behind the report after it was published. “Ultimately, the old adage that ‘good fences make good neighbors’ holds true.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gov. Bill Lee” by Visit Cleveland Tennessee and “Illegal Border Crossers” by Chief Patrol Officer Robert Danley.
Thank you Gov Lee. Now lets round up all the illegal squatters and boot them out of America before its too late.
Tsk, tsk. How many days did it require feckless Bill Lee to react rather than act?
Ask Mr. Lee how many illegal immigrants we have welcomed to Tennessee this past year. Inquiring minds would like to know.