Texas GOP backs resolution saying states have right to repel border ‘invasion’

By Fox News · Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. House’s Texas GOP Caucus announced Thursday that it is united behind a resolution from Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, arguing that states have constitutional authority to secure their borders against an "invasion" or "imminent danger." The caucus is urging Congress to approve the measure, citing what Republicans called the "failed open-border policies" under former President Joe Biden and the millions of illegal immigrants who crossed into the country during his administration. "It is the job of elected officials to protect the Americans that sent them to office," Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Unfortunately, we’ve seen Democrat leaders willfully facilitate a border invasion time and time again. States ought to be able to step in and secure the border when federal government cannot or will not do so. I am proud to join the Texas GOP Caucus in standing up for the American people." The House resolution, first introduced in 2021 in response to the border crisis under the Biden administration, affirms that states have a right under the Constitution to secure their borders if the federal government fails to act. Courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have long treated immigration enforcement as primarily a federal responsibility. CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT SEEKING TO BLOCK TEXAS LAW ALLOWING COPS TO ARREST ILLEGAL MIGRANTS H.Res. 50 says states retain sovereign authority under Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution to defend their territory and citizens from "invasion" or "imminent danger" when the federal government fails to meet what Republicans describe as its Article IV, Section 4 obligation to protect states from invasion. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Arrington said the U.S.-Mexico border has largely been secured under the Trump administration but argued his resolution is needed to ensure states can act if a Democrat returns to the White House. "What we want to avoid is what…