10 thousand migrants a day: Texas confronts federal government in fight for control of border with Mexico

A $61.4 billion aid package to Ukraine has become hostage to the situation on the southern border of the United States, where illegal migration has reached record levels. Migration is becoming a key issue in the election year, and Donald Trump is trying to use it in his fight against Joe Biden by blocking the allocation of money to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reports.

This issue has resulted in a conflict between the US federal government and the state of Texas.

In December, a record number of migrants – about 300,000 – were detained at the southern border. Since 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has spent $11 billion to erect obstacles in their way. In particular, last year he installed kilometers of barbed wire on the Rio Grande River, which migrants are trying to cross from Mexico.

Abbott has also challenged the federal government. He deployed thousands of state troopers and National Guard members to the southern regions, and in December signed a law authorizing state authorities to arrest and deport migrants to Mexico.

The presidential administration challenged the law in court. The state, in turn, filed a lawsuit claiming that border guards tried to cut the barbed wire it had installed.

In mid-January, state troopers blocked a park overlooking the Rio Grande in the town of Eagle Pass. They stopped allowing border control officers to access the river. Abbott said that "Texas has the right to control the entrances and exits to any geographic area of the state".

In the dispute between the state and Washington over the barbed wire, a court in New Orleans initially sided with the former, preventing border control officials from removing it. But this week, the Supreme Court sided with the federal government by a five-to-four vote, restoring their authority over the border.

On the eve of the court's decision, Abbott tweeted:

"Americans and the courts will reject Biden's hostile attitude toward immigration laws," adding that the state will continue to use the National Guard "to build barriers at the border and deter illegal immigrants."

Senators in Congress have been trying to agree on immigration reform for months and were close to a deal.

But Trump's intervention has put the bill's passage in jeopardy. The work being done in the Senate is meaningless from the point of view of security and border closure, he said on Thursday.

"We need a Strong, Powerful, and as "PERFECT" Border as possible, and until we get it, it's better not to make a deal," Trump wrote.

Meanwhile, as it became known, Texas security forces took control of the border with Mexico. Rangers began to build barriers.

Federal authorities demanded that the Texas National Guard remove the barbed wire stretching along the border, but the state governor refused, saying that the government was facilitating a "migrant invasion."

The Biden administration gave Texas 24 hours to open the borders, otherwise "nothing good will come of it."

Trump called on all concerned states to join Texas in its confrontation with Washington.

Background. As a reminder, Zelenskyy called Trump's statements about ending the war "in a day" "frightening" and invited him to Ukraine.