Utah Governor Expresses Support for Texas Amid Border Crisis

_{By Mike Romero}

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday morning, Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox announced his support for Texas Governor Greg Abbott amid a growing confrontation with the United States Federal Government over border control issues.

“The border is a disaster that continues to spiral out of control, both in terms of people and deadly fentanyl traffic,” Cox said. “This is not a partisan issue. This is a national security issue. This is a common sense issue. This is an American issue. Utah thanks Texas and Gov. Abbott for stepping up where the Biden Administration has failed over and over again.”

This came in response to Governor Abbot’s public declaration on January 24, directed towards the Biden administration. In it, Abbott declared that “The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States.”

He accused the President of the United States, Joe Biden, of failing to execute immigration laws enacted by Congress, defending illegal immigrants in court instead of prosecuting them, instructing agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants, and wasting taxpayer dollars to “tear open Texas’ border security infrastructure.” To the last point, Abbott said that doing this directed immigrants away from the 28 legal points of entry and into the country.

Utah is among 20 other states across the country who have voiced support for Texas.

The standoff is occurring after the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 on Monday to allow federal Border Patrol agents remove state-erected razor wire barriers. The Department of Homeland Security demanded Texas give it “full access” to the border by January 26, according to CNN. Abbott is refusing to comply, saying that Homeland Security would be destroying state property, and that Biden’s failure to uphold laws triggered Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 in the constituion which acknowledges “the States’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders” and claims Texas has constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. In his eyes, the Texas National Guard, Texas Department of Public Safety, and others are acting on constitutional authority and state law.

This story is developing.