Fri • Mar 22, 24

Tuesday was a rough day for conservatives concerned about the U.S. border invasion. It was like watching your home team come from behind and then lose in extra innings.

Just hours after the Supreme Court allowed a Texas border security law to be enforced, the ruling was reversed. On Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court issued a procedural ruling, denying the Biden Administration’s request to stop enforcement of Texas Security Law, Senate Bill 4. By that evening, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals had lobbied back with a 2-1 ruling, letting an earlier injunction stand while litigation made its way through the courts. The 5th Circuit held hearings on Wednesday, allowing the hold to stand. Oral arguments for the lawsuits are scheduled for April.

Texas Law Would Deport Illegals

How could that happen? Well, wind back to the passage of S.B. 4 in a November special session, which was set to go into effect earlier this month. Thanks to Texas Speaker of the House, Dade Phelan, a more stringent law was killed before it could even make it to the floor for debate. Thankfully, S.B. 4 still has teeth: It allowed Texas state and local police to arrest and deport suspected illegal aliens. Crossing into the United States anywhere other than a legal port of entry and without proper documentation, someone could be charged with a misdemeanor; a second offense could earn a felony.

Biden Administration Sues to Block It

The second the bill was passed into law; the Biden Administration and Democrat-leaning-pro-open-borders groups began scheming for ways to block it. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, and El Paso County. They argued that S.B. 4 is a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which simply means that federal law supersedes state law. The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a suit, using the same argument on behalf of the United States, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. While the case is being litigated (Texas is currently appealing a federal judge’s ruling), the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay, blocking its enforcement.

As soon as the 5th Circuit’s stay expired earlier this week, the Supreme Court jumped in with its short-living ruling. The 5th Circuit simply re-instated a federal judge’s order blocking the law. According to the Supreme Court’s website, “When the Supreme Court rules on a constitutional issue, that judgement is virtually final; its decisions can be altered only by the rarely used procedure of constitutional amendment or by a new ruling of the Court.” Seeing that this ruling was on the stay and not the constitutional nature of the law, it explains how the 5th Circuit Court was able to re-instate the block.

Left Goes Nuts

For the few hours the law was “live,” Democrats and leftist media went bonkers with worrying headlines and galleries packed with photos of migrant children. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, called the law discriminatory and racial profiling and that it violates “the human rights of the migrant community.”

Meanwhile, Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton was icing the champagne. Not quite, but he was happy. On X, Paxton called it a "huge win and that “Texas has defeated the Biden administration and ACLU’s emergency motions. ... As always, it’s my honor to defend Texas and its sovereignty, and to lead us to victory in court."

Law Misconstrued in the Media

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, in an interview Wednesday on the Salcedo Storm podcast, explained the law, which he said has been misconstrued in the press. “If you cross illegally, and we see you—local law enforcement—we can arrest you under Senate Bill 4,” Patrick said. “We bring you in; we run a background check, take your fingerprints, etc., make sure we know if you’re a potential terrorist or if you’re a criminal. If you’re not in those two categories, then the magistrate says you can spend six months in jail here in Texas, or we can take you back to the bridge and you go back over to Mexico. If they come back, if that person who’s not a criminal comes back a second time, then they go to jail in Texas for years. If you’re a criminal, depending on your level of crime and if it’s a state crime, federal crime, [or] terrorist watchlist, then you either go to ICE or you’re arrested and we’re holding you. It depends on the crime.”

Patrick called the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on Tuesday a “very positive development,” and could hint at how the court would rule when this case reaches the Supreme Court, where he’s confident it’s headed.

22 States Stand with Texas

Meanwhile, at least 22 attorney generals have signed on to an amicus brief, taking issue with the Appeals Court’s recent ruling. Ohio attorney general Dave Jost is leading the coalition of state attorney generals in the brief that states: “States have a sovereign right to enact legislation that protects their residents’ safety.” It urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reverse the lower court’s ruling. And adds that states have a “paramount interest in ensuring that their validly enacted state laws are not improperly held unconstitutional under incorrect preemption analyses.” The other states signing on to the brief are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Open Borders Plan to Entrench Single-Party Rule

One might ask why Democrats are fighting so hard to keep the borders open. Corruption and power are the main drivers. “The Democrat Open Border Plan to Entrench Single-Party Rule Explained in Under 2 Minutes”

A video with more than 53 million views on X from Western Lensman, nails it, according to Elon Musk who shared it with this comment: “This is actually happening!” “Flood the country with untold millions of illegals from land, sea and air from all over the world,” the voiceover says. “Enough to eclipse the populations of 36 individual states.” Step 2 is to prioritize the illegals over U.S. Citizens by giving them freebies and housing and then keep them in the country at all costs. And then it goes on to describe every step of how sanctuary cities protect illegals and how conservatives are being attacked when they try to speak up. And how eventually these illegals will be counted in the U.S. Census and be able to replace current Americans when they vote.

Tucker Carlson Critical of Abbott’s Handling of the Border

So, as the invasion is still in full force, it’s not hard to see why many, including Tucker Carlson, are critical of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's handling of the border crisis. Carlson was in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday night for a grassroots GOP event. “I don’t understand how you can be the governor of a state in 2020 and see the border open up and get invaded and do nothing about it,” Carlson told the packed crowd according to Texas Scorecard. “In a lot of ways, [Greg Abbott] is a wartime governor. There’s an invasion of your state. And he’s completely ignored it.”

A recent video of migrants storming the border.

Like Dorothy, did Texas Always Have the Power?

Perhaps, just like Glinda tells Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” “You always had the power to go back to Kansas,” Texas has always had the power to defend itself. Many conservatives cite the State War Clause of the Constitution, which allows states to act when it is "actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay." So, stay tuned for how the border crisis evolves. Who knows? Maybe Texas will have an “Oz” moment soon. We can only hope!