Six House Democrats are pressing the Biden administration to intervene in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to "usurp the federal government's power to manage international relations and immigration law" after Abbott invoked the U.S. and Texas' constitutions' invasion clauses to "defend our state against an invasion" to combat the record-setting wave of illegal immigration occurring along the border.
"As members of Congress representing the great state of Texas, we are deeply disturbed with recent comments made by the governor of Texas suggesting he has invoked invasion authorities under the U.S. Constitution to justify the use of state resources to further militarize our southern border," wrote the members in the letter organized by Rep. Sylvia Garcia.
"As such, we write to urge the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to intervene in the ongoing efforts of the Texas governor to usurp the federal government's power to manage international relations and immigration law," they added.
Abbott on Tuesday sent a letter to Texas county judges indicating that he would deploy the National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety to build a wall along the border.
He also sent a letter Wednesday to the White House explaining the need for more aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration.
"Your inaction has led to catastrophic consequences. Under your watch, America is suffering the highest volume of illegal immigration in the history of our country. This past year, more than 2 million immigrants tried to enter the country illegally, coming from more than 100 countries across the globe," Abbott wrote in the letter. "Worse yet, your failed border policies recently prompted a United Nations agency to declare that the border between the United States and Mexico is the deadliest land crossing in the world."