Republican governors in half of the US have backed Texas in an intensifying standoff with the federal government over illegal immigration.
The Supreme Court ruled this week against Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has strung razor wire along miles of the frontier with Mexico.
But the Republican has vowed to add more razor wire to crack down on what he calls an invasion.
A record 225,000-plus illegal migrants crossed the border in December alone.
On Thursday, 25 Republican governors released a joint statement of solidarity with Mr Abbott for "stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country".
The latest border flashpoint focuses on a small stretch of the Rio Grande River that has become one of the busiest spots for migrants crossing illegally from Mexico.
As part of his Operation Lone Star, Mr Abbott has sought to block or deter entry into his state, including by installing about 30 miles (48km) of razor wire barriers along the city of Eagle Pass.
On Monday the Supreme Court handed a victory to the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in its standoff with Texas.
The justices ruled by 5-4 that US Border Patrol, a federal agency, could cut or clear out the concertina wire set up by the Texas National Guard.
The justice department had argued the fencing hampers the work of Border Patrol agents in that it poses a danger to both migrants and law enforcement. Some of the illegal migrants have cut themselves on the wire.
Appearing on Fox News on Thursday, Mr Abbott said: "Because the Biden administration has really, truly abdicated its responsibility to secure the border and enforce the laws, Texas, very simply, is securing the border."
He has posted photos of the Texas National Guard laying down new razor wire along the river.
The move does not appear to violate the Supreme Court order, which granted permission for the removal of existing wire, while saying nothing about adding new barriers.
Democrats are urging the president to take a tougher stance against Texas.
"Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border," congressman Joaquin Castro wrote on X, calling for federal control over the guardsmen.
Governor Abbott is also facing legal challenges from the Biden White House over his orders to install floating barriers in the Rio Grande and to jail thousands of migrants on trespassing charges.
And, as the governor continues to bus migrants to Democratic cities and states, pressure is mounting on Mr Biden to take drastic action to stem the flow of arrivals.
Last week, Mr Biden said he was "ready to act", but argued lawmakers on Capitol Hill must first agree on significant policy reforms.
The prospects of a grand bargain, however, in either chamber of Congress, let alone both, appear slim.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives are currently leading an effort to impeach and remove the president's top border official, Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
An emerging bipartisan border deal in the US Senate meanwhile faces objections from right and left.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican White House frontrunner, has reportedly pressured allies to kill the bill to avoid giving Mr Biden a win in an election year.
Immigration is a central issue ahead of the November 2024 general election, with voters in Iowa and New Hampshire delivering primary victories to Mr Trump in part due to their concerns over the border.
From the Biden side, this seems like a bad thing to pick a fight about. It's not like Biden supports actually helping the refugees. So what, he's going to order the national guard to go in and replace the Abbot fences on the border with Federal approved fences on the border?
Why not order the national guard to provide abortion in Texas or something? Then you could have the same sort of fight, but about something where you have moral and popular high ground? Why are the Democrats so bad at this?
Both Dems and GOP are running on the "We are the best at fascism on teh border" line, but the GOP's base wants that really bad and the Dem's base doesn't, and the Dem's are fucking cowards, and idiots, so it's not working.
Biden barely tolerates abortion, he personally doesn’t like it because of his Christianity and only supports it because it would be political suicide for him not to
2024: Dems suggest white picket fence wall as a compromise to Republicans demanding razor wire.
2026: Dems suggest razor wire as a compromise to Republicans demanding electric fence.
2028: Dems suggest electric fence as a compromise to Republicans demanding stationing soldiers along the wall.
2030: Dems suggest stationing soldiers along the wall as compromise to Republicans demanding autonomous turrets along the wall.
2032: Dems suggest autonomous turrets along the wall as compromise to Republicans demanding ethnically cleansing border towns.
Migrant traffic has been significantly down since O'Bummer's historic violence and persecution, hasn't it?
The feds have authority over the border, full stop. This seems bad/good, depending on how you feel about civil war ii, electric boogaloo.
25 republican governors?? That's literally half the states in the union. Add one for Texas, and there's literally a majority of states in support of calling immigration an invasion and deploying state militias against federal forces. And the year isn't even 4 weeks old yet!!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/07/states-federal-benefits/
States that by and large are the most reliant on federal aid to function. It's a weird contradiction between the republicans having a superstructural monopoly regarding this, including the democrats who are functionally identical on immigration, and the federal government being their whole economic base. They're essentially children having a tantrum but who can't move out of their parents' house. But they're the most unstable and idiotic children in the country, they're heavily armed, and they fetishise having their own Ruby Ridge moment. Many of them are in apocalypse cults of one kind or another. Everything they're consuming is pushing them toward civil war and making martyrs of the hogs who've already died.
There's no rational basis for them escalating but they aren't rational people. It's very hard for me to anticipate where this is most likely to go next.
It's way more rational than you think. They are headed towards enhanced violent oppression of the masses as the masses develop consciousness
If Biden wanted to punish them couldn't he cut federal aid to those states?
He could close military bases and cripple the state by the end of the day but he won't do anything.
It would be funny if he did, but liberals are cowards
Heartbreaking: the worst people you know are about to kill each other and it probably won't be livestreamed
edit: Although I just received word from heaven that this will be resolved when Biden agrees to every republican demand in exchange for $100b in weapons to Israel.
They're going to kill a tremendous number of people, but not each other.
And, as the governor continues to bus migrants to Democratic cities and states, pressure is mounting on Mr Biden to take drastic action to stem the flow of arrivals.
It's humans, not a fucking catastrophe
I don't even know how to guess who will blink first here.
Brandon involving law enforcement is fucking nuts, cause he can find out real fast limits of their loyalty, but at the same time folding over it is just as bonkers.
*guess cutting funding is an obvious out, but congress porkies will get mad then (?)
I mean him doing some shenanigans with national guard with existing chud brainworms of "fema camps" and "taking our guns away" is some social powder keg
Chuds have literally already been doing that for decades and if we want to talk about bad precedents to set letting the fascists do whatever they want even if they're openly defying the federal government is a lot worse.
They just got carte Blanche to pass whatever laws against abortion or Trans people they want, worse case scenario the courts tell them they can't do that, they tell the courts to go fuck themselves and then liberals shrug and do nothing.
Oh i mean drone striking abott is obviously morally correct, over abortion ban, but then again ice should also be excised
Conservatives won't be happy until they're literally killing migrants with machine guns at the border, jesus christ
they won't be happy until everyone and everything that isn't them is destroyed.
I am having a very bad morning and I am going to start Crassus posting. I-70 is a much longer and more impressive road than the Via Appia and you could fit SO MANY CRUCIFIXes on it and still have plenty of room for gibbets.
Fuck I-70. It's the only interstate I know of which legally requires special snow chains once it reaches the Rockies. The grades are so steep that trucks have special sand pits to drive off into if their brakes catch on fire trying to drive it. My hatchback struggles with it even in good conditions and I'd never drive it with rain or snow.
Runaway truck ramps are common in the Appalachians too, anywhere there is a long stretch of a steep grade. Some sections there will be a truck speed limit of 20mph while cars can go 55.
Requiring snow chains though, that’s hardcore.
