Earlier this month, President Biden met with Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador for summit talks regarding, among other things, illegal immigration and border security. The event was highly stylized, with the usual feel-good photo-ops for the heads of state. On-lookers can be forgiven for suspecting that nothing serious would result.
And they would be right. Political platitudes are not policy.
Meanwhile, far from the Palacio Nacional and the White House, the crisis at our border becomes more pronounced. Drugs, sex trafficking, violence, and illegal immigration have intensified to record-breaking numbers in the past year. In fact, December saw the highest number of illegal border crossings during any month of Joe Biden’s presidency.
There is so much federal intransigence on securing the border that one wonders if this is by design. The results, as they say, speak for themselves, which is why our best hope is for courageous governors and state legislatures tackle the problem head-on.
And this leaves it up to Texas, in particular, to fix what is in effect a national problem. Broadly speaking, we need to proceed on two parallel tracks, both of which have hitherto never been attempted in a serious, concerted fashion.
First, we need to resolve for ourselves, both psychologically and politically, that the border crisis will not end unless we begin putting sincere economic pressure on Mexico—and other Latin American countries—to act as a good-faith partner in respecting national boundaries.
Second, our representatives and governor in Austin need to avail themselves of readily available Constitutional options to defend the state.
With respect to the psychological aspect of the first point, Texans must be clear-sighted in their understanding that the organized crime-backed flow of millions of illegal immigrants over our border is what in any other sane society and time would be labeled an invasion.
This should not be construed as pejorative or histrionic. It is what I consider an apt descriptor of the phenomenon. To tackle this problem, we need to be precise in our language.
Once our situation is understood for what it is, political and economic solutions abound. The general maxim to observe here is simple: stop all incentives that do or could encourage illegal immigration to Texas, while at the same time punishing Mexico for acting as a bad-faith partner.
Everything from E-Verify laws that penalize businesses that employ non-legal workers to a tax on remittances back to Mexico (and other countries) is on the table. In-state tuition for illegal aliens at Texas universities and Medicaid spending on non-citizens having babies in the state should cease. Criminal penalties for any person aiding and abetting illegal entry into the state and civil forfeiture for any persons or organizations providing aid and comfort to illegal aliens or cross-border smuggling, human trafficking, or other transnational crime, should all be seen as avenues worth exploring.
We have the power to disrupt the Mexican economy and force attendance at the bargaining table. Indeed, we use this “soft” tactic every day throughout the world.
For naysayers who would typify this as unduly harsh, understand that the status quo at the border will not change without forcing Mexico to cooperate. As we have seen in recent decades, it will only get worse.
Constitutionally, we also have options. Texas can invoke our power under Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution. The full text is as follows:
“No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”
Were our governor to—as he should—label the millions of illegal border crossings an invasion, Texas could use the imminent danger and exception rule to do everything from making interstate compacts with other states for border security, to strategically ceasing incoming commercial traffic into Texas, to (most consequentially) repatriating anyone without a green card or citizenship.
Short of this, the Mexican government will not cooperate.
We will never, and let me underscore this, never, amass the force necessary to deal with immigration, if we do not seek recourse to the Constitution.
Many of my friends in the Texas government, among whom I once served, are proud Texans and good patriots. Doubly so our citizens. All of us see and may even comprehend the threat facing our great state, but for various reasons have been content with inaction or halfway measures. 2023 is now upon us. Let’s get to work.
Don Huffines was a former Texas State Senator from 2015-2019. He is the founder of the Huffines Liberty Foundation, a non-profit devoted to advancing the cause of liberty in the State of Texas and educating citizens to hold their elected officials accountable.
