A House Republican said this week he is introducing legislation to stop the federal government from removing barriers constructed by the states to prevent illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) announced the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act on Wednesday after a Supreme Court decision allowed the Biden administration to temporarily dismantle razor wire installed by Texas while a legal fight brought by the state continues to play out.
“Today, I’m introducing the RAZOR Act. This bill would ban the federal government from removing Texas or any other state’s border barriers. If the Supreme Court won’t allow states to defend their sovereignty and our nation, Congress has a moral imperative to act,” Collins said in a post to X.
“President Biden is aiding and abetting illegal aliens who are swarming our border and raiding our country’s resources,” Collins added in a statement. “Why else would he try to stop the state of Texas from turning them back to Mexico? With the Supreme Court siding with the America Last policies of the Biden administration, Congress must stand with Governor Greg Abbott as he fights for the sovereignty of his state and our nation.”
Since announcing the RAZOR Act, Collins has posted to X a number of times thanking various GOP colleagues for co-sponsoring the legislation.
The Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling on Monday to vacate an appellate-level injunction after the Biden administration made a plea for intervention in which the Department of Justice argued the barriers impeded U.S. Border Patrol agents from helping or apprehending migrants crossing the Rio Grande River.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued a defiant statement on Wednesday accusing the Biden administration of failing to enforce immigration laws and saying his state has the right to defend itself. He also said Texas officials will continue to deploy razor wire to repel illegal immigration.
Dozens of Republican governors have rallied behind the Texas cause. And while Abbott is being encouraged by some in the GOP to go as far as ignoring the Supreme Court decision, there are House Democrats calling on Biden to seize control of the Texas National Guard.
There also seems to be a bipartisan appetite in Congress for changing the status quo, even if there is disagreement on how to address the border crisis amid a surge in crossings and blue cities around the country getting overwhelmed with migrants. Fourteen House Democrats recently broke ranks and joined with most Republicans in voting to denounce the Biden administration’s “open-borders policies” last week. Bipartisan Senate talks on a border deal are ongoing.
Biden’s secretary of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, is assisting in the Senate immigration negotiations while he faces impeachment proceedings at the committee level over his handling of the border crisis.
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