Texas State Representative Matt Krause (R-Haslet), chairman of the Texas State House Committee on General Investigating, wrote a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, requesting his legal opinion regarding the ongoing “invasion” at the Texas-Mexico border.
According to Krause’s letter, his committee seeks Paxton’s legal opinion on “whether the federal government has failed – intentionally or unintentionally – to uphold its obligations to protect our state from invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution and whether Texas has the sovereign power to defend itself from invasion.”
Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot convene) against domestic Violence.”
Krause commented on the letter he shared on Facebook, saying, “The situation at Texas’ southern border is unsustainable. The Biden Administration has been so inept or apathetic to the plight of Texas and other border states, that it very well could rise to a violation of Article 4, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.”
Krause points out that a similar request was submitted and answered recently in Arizona, which, as another border state, has experienced many of the same issues.
“There are many similarities between the two states and the current border crisis,” Krause stated.
In a legal opinion, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich wrote that the federal government has failed “to secure the border and protect Arizona from invasion.” He also cites Article IV, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, which clarifies “that States retain the sovereign power to defend themselves within their own territory.”
“The violence and lawlessness at the border caused by transnational cartels and gangs satisfies the definition of an ‘invasion’ under the U.S. Constitution, and Arizona therefore has the power to defend itself from this invasion under the Governor’s authority as Commander-in-Chief,” wrote Brnovich.
Sheena Rodriguez, president of Secure the Border: Save Texas, told Texas Scorecard that AG Paxton can define the “crisis” at the border as an invasion and allow “our Governor (Greg Abbott) to invoke Art I, § 10, cl. 3 of the U.S. Constitution, also known as the ‘State Self-Defense Clause.'”
According to Rodriguez, “invoking the State Self-Defense Clause allows Texas to protect its citizens and the territory of Texas by all means necessary.”
“The authority is there,” said Rodriguez. “The question now is, in these unprecedented times, do our elected state officials have the grit and fortitude to do what is right and necessary to protect Texans?”
Just weeks ago, at his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden signaled a shift in messaging on border security.
“If we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system,” he told Congress during his State of the Union. “We can do both.”
He touted new border technology to detect drug smuggling and joint patrols with Mexico to catch human traffickers.
Arizona’s Democratic senator Mark Kelly has also called the happenings at the border a “crisis.
“We still need smart border security that meets Arizona’s unique needs while ensuring a secure, orderly, and humane response to this border crisis,” said Kelly in a March press release. “I will continue to hold the Biden administration accountable to that.”