Abbott is attempting to challenge the federal government’s authority at the border after the Supreme Court ruled that federal agents can remove razor wire Texas has put at the border
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Thursday said she will deliver razor wire to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott if federal agents interfere with his plans for the U.S.-Mexico border as a conflict between the Lone Star state and the federal government over the handling of immigration has heated up.
“I’ll drive in more razor wire from South Dakota if I have to, for [Abbott] to do his job,” Noem said in an appearance on Fox News.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that federal agents have the authority to remove razor wire that Texas has put at the border. The court’s precedent holds that the federal government has sole constitutional authority to regulate the border and immigration.
Abbott is attempting to buck that precedent, and in December passed a law making border crossing a state crime and giving the state of Texas the power to deport migrants. The Biden administration has sued Texas over the law.