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On November 27th Texas won a major lawsuit against the Biden administration, upholding the Lone Star State’s right to erect fencing on its land near the southern border to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants into the state. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision enjoined the Biden administration from destroying razor wire that Texas officials have installed along the border so long as federal immigration agents have access to both sides of the fence. The majority opinion concluded that “Texas is seeking, not to ‘regulate’ Border Patrol, but only to safeguard its own property.”
Following the Court of Appeals ruling, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote on X, “We continue adding more razor wire border barrier.”
Starting on January 20, 2025, Governor Abbott will no longer have to contend with an adversary in the White House. The incoming Trump administration will be an enthusiastic partner that Texas can work with to end the illegal immigration crisis that President Biden’s open border and catch-and-release policies precipitated.
As an indicator of what is to come, President-elect Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, visited Texas Army National Guard forces and Texas Highway Patrol troops just before Thanksgiving and thanked them for their service. Governor Abbott accompanied him.
“Let me be clear, there is going to be a mass deportation because we just finished a mass illegal immigration crisis on the border,” Mr. Homan said during his Texas visit. “If we don’t do it, what is the option? Let them stay? Cause if you let them stay, you’ll never fix the border. You’re gonna send a message to the rest of the world: enter the country illegally, which is a crime, ignore a court order … we’re telling the whole world it’s OK to enter this country illegally, you’ve never got to go home.”
Mr. Homan warned sanctuary city and state leaders not to interfere with the incoming Trump administration’s strict enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. “It is a felony to knowingly harbor or conceal an illegal immigrant from immigration authorities. Don’t test us,” he said. And he praised Texas’s governor for helping to drive down illegal immigration in his state despite the roadblocks that the Biden administration has put in his way.
“Governor Abbott has done an amazing job,” Mr. Homan said. “This is a model we can take across the country.” He promised that the incoming Trump administration will “help Governor Abbott finish the job he started.”
Before Mr. Homan went down to Texas, he said during a “Fox & Friends” interview that “We’re already planning what we’re going to do to lock down the state of Texas.” He promised to partner with Governor Abbott to “do 100% security on his border, and we’re going to do that across the southwest border.”
For his part, Governor Abbott declared on November 25th that “Texas continues our historic border security mission to stop illegal entry and safeguard our nation. We’ll use every tool and strategy available to hold the line.” As evidence that the governor meant business, he announced that Texas had recently installed additional buoy barriers on the Rio Grande.
And Governor Abbott gave a shout out to Tom Homan. “I’m thankful that we have Tom Homan as the incoming border czar who is going to help execute those laws and enforce those laws and make sure that we get back to restoring order,” he told Fox News’ primetime anchor Sean Hannity.
Just imagine what can be accomplished when a border state and the federal government work together with the same goal, rather than at cross purposes with each other. That goal is to completely stop more illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. and to detain those apprehended who are already in the country illegally in preparation for their expedited deportation, starting with security risks and violent criminals.
We are already beginning to see concrete signs of this budding collaboration. For example, Mr. Homan toured a 1400 acre stretch of land owned by Texas, which it had previously offered to the incoming Trump administration for use as a proposed “mass deportation” facility to detain illegal immigrants. In addition, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has announced that more land is available to the Trump administration to be used for the same purpose. The Texas General Land Office’s “Jocelyn Initiative,” named after the 12-year-old Houston girl who two illegal Venezuelan immigrants allegedly sexually assaulted and killed, will enable it to identify all land under its jurisdiction to assist the coming deportation operations.
“We’re just looking to partner with the Trump administration in any way that is helpful to them to be sure that these violent criminals who are hurting our sons and daughters are off our soil,” said Ms. Buckingham.
Tom Homan has confirmed that the incoming Trump administration will take Texas up on its land offer to help implement its detention and mass deportation program. As for the sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate, Mr. Homan had this to say: “Sanctuary states said they’re not allowing any detention facilities in their state—fine. Then we’ll arrest them. We’ll fly them out of the state and detain them outside the state, again, away from their families, their attorneys…You’re not going to stop us doing what we’re going to do.”
Starting on January 20, 2025, there will be a new sheriff in town who intends to pull out all the stops to achieve his mission to deter, detain, and deport illegal immigrants en masse. With the help of Texas and other states that support President-elect Trump’s get-tough immigration policies, he has an exceptionally good chance of succeeding.