Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Other GOP Governors Are Right to Stand With Texas

Gov. Glenn Youngkin was right: under President Joe Biden, every state is a border state. Thankfully, Youngkin and other Republican governors are helping Texas secure our southern border as the Biden administration continues to ignore its constitutional responsibility to defend our nation.

The unprecedented flood of migrants illegally crossing the border is a direct threat to our nation’s sovereignty, our national security, and our economy. 2023 marked the worst year on record for unlawful entries into the United States, with 3.2 million illegal border crossings – more than the populations of 17 states. December 2023 was the worst single month on record, with more than 300,000 illegal crossings.

Even more alarming, those numbers don’t include an estimated minimum of 1.7 million “gotaways” who have escaped into the interior of the country since Joe Biden took office.

To hear Democrats tell it, these border crossings simply involve families searching for a better life. While that may be true in some cases, the reality is that these illegal crossings are a clear violation of our country’s normal legal immigration process. 

We also know that drug and human trafficking cartels and criminal gangs are using the Democrat border crisis to expand their operations. 

We have seen the tragic consequences of Democrats’ open borders policies right here in Virginia. Last July, an illegal alien from Honduras named Lemus Ramos was arrested in Fairfax County on charges of sexual abuse of a minor and manufacturing and possessing child pornography.

Despite Ramos having a federal immigration detainer and committing monstrous crimes against children, far-left Soros-funded Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano allowed Ramos to walk free on a ridiculously low $3,000 bond. Then, on January 4, Ramos assaulted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who attempted to arrest him in Springfield.

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Last November, another illegal alien from Honduras was arrested in Herndon, Virginia, on charges of felony rape, abduction by force, and assault on a family member. It was later revealed that this individual had first been arrested by border patrol agents in Texas in 2021 but, in accordance with Biden administration policies, had been released with a notice to appear before an immigration judge at an undisclosed future date, which he predictably failed to do. 

Thanks to Biden’s open borders policies and the refusal of Democrats like Steve Descano to enforce the law, innocent Virginians were victimized by these criminal illegal aliens. 

Virginians are also victimized each day by the ongoing fentanyl crisis that has continued to worsen thanks to the border crisis. In 2022, there were nearly 2,500 drug overdose deaths in Virginia – 79 percent of which involved fentanyl. With border agents bogged down by the massive surge in illegal aliens, Biden administration officials have diverted resources away from stopping criminal drug traffickers.

Meanwhile, our adversaries are taking advantage of Democrat-manufactured chaos at the border to infiltrate our country. In Fiscal Year 2023, border agents arrested 169 people on the FBI’s terrorism watch list trying to enter the country illegally – up from 98 in 2022 and just 15 in 2021.

Border officials have also warned about long caravans of military-aged males – including foreign nationals from China – crossing the border every day. It’s clear that America’s enemies view the border as a weak point and are using it to severely undermine U.S. national security.

There is no way to determine how many potential terrorists have escaped completely undetected into our country, and how many have come here to Virginia. The Biden administration and its Democrat enablers have put all of America at risk – and in doing so violated their sacred obligation under Article IV Section 4 of the Constitution to “protect each [State] against invasion.” 

 In response, states like Texas are stepping in where the federal government has failed. Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency and begun enforcing border security laws that the federal government has refused to enforce. 

Now, the Biden administration is shamefully attempting to prevent Texas from protecting itself – and our country – from the ongoing invasion. After tearing down the border wall constructed under President Trump, the White House is ordering border patrol agents to remove barriers constructed by Texas to prevent illegal border crossings.

In an ill-advised 5-4 decision for which it offered no legal reasoning, the Supreme Court of the United States has told Texas that it must stand down and allow the federal government to continue its disregard for existing immigration law.

Governor Abbott has declared his intention to continue defending his state from Biden’s border invasion in order to uphold his oath to the Constitution. Governor Youngkin has courageously and correctly joined other Republican governors in making clear that Virginia and other states stand with Governor Abbott.

Virginia was one of the first states to send National Guard troops to the border last year. At the time, Governor Youngkin declared, “every state is a border state” – a comment that drew ridicule from Virginia Democrats and the corporate media.

Since then, Governor Youngkin has been proven right time and time again. Our Commonwealth and our country can be grateful that he and other Republican governors have the courage and moral fortitude to stand up and do what the Biden administration will not.