25 governors back Texas on tougher border stance

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Twenty-five Republican governors have backed the state of Texas in a standoff with the federal government in Eagle Pass, a Texas border town that has become a flash point in an intensifying debate on illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico line.

The state seized control of Shelby Park, a 50-acre public park that has been popular with migrants who have tried to enter the U.S. illegally by crossing the Rio Grande River.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott drew scrutiny when he ordered the Texas National Guard to attach razor wire to buoys in the Rio Grande to deter migrants from attempting to cross.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the U.S. Border Patrol, a federal agency, could cut or clear out the concertina wire.

On Thursday, 25 Republican governors released a joint statement supporting Abbott for "stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country."

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Abbott has vowed to add more razor wire to crack down on what he calls an invasion.

The Justice Department had argued the fencing hampers the work of Border Patrol agents in that it poses a danger to both migrants and law enforcement. Some of the migrants have cut themselves on the wire.

A record 225,000-plus migrants illegally crossed the border in December, 2023, alone.