The situation within Texas seems to have gotten worse this past week as half of U.S governors have sided with Texas against a Federal order to dismantle the barbed wire that Texas governor Greg Abbot ordered placed in order to deter continued immigration streaming into the United States from the Mexican border. With this defiance exemplified by not only Texas, but the whole of the GOP bloc, the tensions within the United States government have increased tenfold.
The situation at the Mexican border has been deteriorating for years as the status of Mexico has worsened amidst government instability and the rising influence of the cartels over the Mexican government. Thousands of migrants have crossed into the United States illegally, with illegal immigration being at record highs in the entirety of the history of the United States. This illegal immigration has become a hot political issue within the country, with Democrats taking a soft stance on the immigration, and Republicans taking a hard stance.
Texas, the state from which most of the illegal immigration pours in owing to its large border with Mexico, which is also a firmly Republican state, has taken a hard stance on immigration in recent months, with the governor ordering the establishment of large amounts of razor wire along the border in a specific area known as Eagle Pass. Seen by many, especially the current Biden administration, as an unnecessary action, the Biden administration requested the removal of the razor wire, to which the Texan government denied it.
The situation then escalated when the case reached the supreme court, who voted 5-4 in favor of allowing the Biden Administration and the United States Border Patrol to enter the area and remove the razor wire by force. Although the Supreme Court ruled such, the governor of Texas and the Texan government blocked the border patrol from entering to cut the razor wire, in clear defiance of the federal government, resulting in a standoff between the Border Patrol and Texan national guard.
In the following days, all GOP governors with the exception of Vermont made proclamations in support of the Texan government, citing the need of a state to defend itself, and multiple of these states have even sent divisions of their own national guards to assist the Texan national guard in keeping federal forces from removing the razor wire. With such clear lines drawn, many have grown increasingly worried.
Many see this as a second nullification crisis, with the first nullification crisis being in 1832 when John C. Calhoun attempted to nullify a federal ruling regarding tariffs. He was soundly defeated politically before the situation could spiral, and since then, a state has seldom challenged a supreme court ruling, until now. The defiance of the GOP and her aligned states represents a deep division within the country unseen since the days before the civil war.
Anxiety and fear has risen within the country in recent days, especially as this year is election year, and such a crisis to start off the year is inherently worrying. Although most do not expect the situation to escalate beyond a simple scuffle, the representation is clear, and even politicians have stated so. Republican Representative Majorie Taylor Greene called for a national divorce between blue and red states, and spectators have given their own opinions on the matter.
