The largest union for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents posted on Friday a message in support of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Lonestar State’s efforts to secure the southern border. The defiant message, which was delivered in an X post, suggested that rank-and-file Border Patrol agents will not comply if the Biden Administration orders them to arrest Texas law enforcement and National Guard personnel.
“Rank-and file BP agents are not going to start arresting TX NG members for following their LAWFUL orders. That’s fake news,” the Border Patrol Union wrote in an X post.
“TX NG and rank-and-file BP agents work together and respect each other’s jobs. Period. If TX NG members have LAWFUL orders, then they have to carry out those orders,” the statement continued.
The union went on to stress that rank-and-file agents have long-running relationships with the Texas National Guard and understand their commitment to Border Security. “Rank-and-file BP agents appreciate and respect what TX has been doing to defend their state in the midst of this catastrophe that the Biden Admin has unleashed on America,” the statement reads.
Earlier this week, the Biden Administration ordered Texas to vacate the Shelby Park area in Eagle Pass and allow federal agents to access the area. The park — which has become a popular staging ground for massive groups of illegal aliens attempting to enter the U.S. — was occupied by Texas officials last week. Governor Abbott has cited Article IV of Section IV of the U.S. constitution, which compels the federal government to protect states against an invasion.
Texas has argued that the Biden Administration is failing to deter the record-breaking flow of illegal aliens, pointing to illegal alien encounters reaching all-time highs in 2022 and 2023. As a result, the Lonestar State has constructed land and water-based barriers while Texas National Guard personnel have been detaining illegal aliens.
Following a 5-4 Supreme Court decision that gave Border Patrol agents the power to cut fencing at key entry points, the Biden Administration ordered Texas officials to vacate the Shelby Park area within 24 hours. This deadline expired over the weekend and was met with defiance by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who informed the administration that Texas will continue its border security measures.
After the expiration of the 24-hour deadline, it remains to be seen what the Biden Administration will do in response. A number of elected Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), have called on the president to federalize the Texas National Guard. ““If Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling … [Biden] needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now,” Castro wrote in an X post.
Texas has also received support from more than 20 red state governors, many of whom have offered to send their own national guard personnel in order to deal with the crisis.