Has Greg Abbott Gone Mad With Power?

Greg Abbott's fact-challenged statement echoes cries of the past as his political theater has overstepped the law and the Supreme Court..

Yesterday, Greg Abbott issued an alarming statement. It was full of mistruths, and the language used came directly from South Carolina’s 1860 declaration of secession.

Let’s fact-check this.

1. The “broken the compact between the United States and the States” is similar to the words in South Carolina’s 1860 declaration of secession.

2. There are no immigration laws in the book that Biden refuses to follow. In fact, he’s following the same laws we’ve had in place for 44 years under the Refugee Act of 1980 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

3. If an asylum seeker wants to ask for asylum, they have to do it on American soil. So, crossing the Rio Grande and asking border patrol for asylum is perfectly legal.

4. In November, the Cato Institute published a study which found that migrants were more likely to be released by Trump than Biden.

5. In immigration law, no blanket mandate requires the detention of all undocumented migrants. Abbott just made that up.

6. The assertion that the effect of the federal government’s actions is to “illegally allow their en masse parole into the United States” is incorrect. Parole is a legal mechanism that allows specific individuals temporary entry into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

7. Abbott invokes Article IV, § 4 of the Constitution, claiming that the failure of the federal government to enforce immigration laws has triggered an invasion. The term “invasion” in the context of the Constitution is typically understood to refer to an armed foreign incursion, not migration, which has historically been used to refer to military action, not civilian migration.

8. Abbott’s reference to the state’s right of self-defense to justify his actions is wrong, as the federal government has preeminence in border control and immigration, which are typically not under state jurisdiction.

9. The statement about unprecedented harm to the People across the United States is vague and subjective. Harm would need to be quantified and demonstrated through data and evidence.

Republican Governors and Trump signing on.

A few dozen Republican Governors in red states have put out statements saying they will stand with Texas.

Some of these governors have already sent members of their National Guard down to the border. Others are talking about it. Then, this afternoon, Mango Mussolini put out a statement encouraging all states to send their troops to Texas to help Greg Abbott.

While all of this is going on, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of heavily armed militia people headed for Eagle Pass to “secure the border.” They’re supposed to arrive next week.

I’m sharing this link with a warning. It’s a Rumble video that will show you the type of propaganda being played in right-wing spaces. The images in the video depict Hispanic people and big, bold letters of “criminal gangs” and “invasion.”

It’s pure propaganda, but it’s essential to recognize it and know this is what our fellow countrymen are watching and believing.

During the 1930s, the Nazis extensively used media as propaganda tools to promote their ideologies and manipulate public opinion.

The Nazis spread anti-Semitic propaganda, blaming Jews for Germany’s problems and promoting hatred against them. They appealed to a sense of national pride and patriotism, emphasizing Germany’s greatness and the need to restore it. Hitler was portrayed as a savior figure in Nazi propaganda. Sound familiar?

In history, we’ve seen fascist movements rise to the top and do horrible things. Obviously, we aren’t there yet, but the actions of Abbott and other Republicans are dangerous and put millions of Texans at risk.

We’ve seen what this type of rhetoric has done before. In 2019, in an El Paso Walmart.

Texas has until Friday.

The Biden administration has demanded that Texas give federal border agents full access to a riverfront park in the border town of Eagle Pass by Friday (tomorrow).

Ken Paxton told Fox News that Texas does not have plans to comply with Biden admin’s deadline to re-open Shelby Park by tomorrow.

What is Greg Abbott’s end game? Abbott was a Supreme Court Justice and the Texas Attorney General before he became Governor. He knows the law. He knows he’s breaking it but seems dedicated to starting a Civil War because Texas can’t get permission to drown children.

Only a few hours ago, Newsmax and Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK) openly discussed a Civil War between the United States and Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma and how state forces would combine in a joint defense against the US military.

So many parallels are drawn to the past, like the secession language of the 1860s or the propagandistic tactics reminiscent of 1930s Germany. History has taught us that such rhetoric is not without consequence; it has the power to shape realities and, at its worst, provoke violence.

What will come in the coming days and weeks will be a test of our collective character. Stay tuned.

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