#StandWithTexas trends as Texas-US govt standoff escalates, here's all you need to know about the border crisis

A standoff between Texas and the federal government over border security is escalating, as state officials refuse to grant access to a park that is a hotspot for illegal crossings.

The park, known as Shelby Park, is located along the Rio Grande and was taken over by the state earlier this month. The federal government has demanded that its border agents be allowed to enter the park by Friday, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state will not comply.

“We’re talking about two and a half miles of a 1,260-something mile border along Texas and, suddenly, they’ve gotta have access right here,” he said in an interview with FOX News.

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Why the standoff despite the Supreme Court's order?

The dispute over the park is part of a larger conflict between Texas and the federal government over how to handle the influx of migrants at the southern border. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has accused the Biden administration of failing to secure the border and has deployed the state’s National Guard and other resources to deter illegal crossings.

Abbott has also ordered the installation of more razor wire along the border, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the federal government the authority to remove it. Abbott argued that the state has a constitutional right to defend itself from the threats posed by illegal immigration.

“It was the states that created the United States,” he said in a FOX News interview.

“And when the states voted to create the United States and have a constitution, included in that agreement was the compact that the federal government would take care of these states.”

“Regardless of what federal statute may exist, the supremacy clause means that the constitution itself is the supreme law of the land,” he added. “The constitution itself provides Texas with a right of self-defense, in this case, because the United States has abandoned its responsibility to defend Texas.”

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What the Texas Governor has to say

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, stood by his actions on Wednesday and claimed that Texas had the right to do what it was doing. He also accused President Joe Biden of not enforcing the existing immigration laws, without giving any proof.

He said in a statement, “President Biden has broken his oath to uphold the immigration laws that Congress passed. He is not prosecuting the immigrants who enter the country illegally, which is a federal crime. Instead, he is suing Texas in federal courts for trying to protect the border.”

NBC News reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of the Border Patrol, wrote a letter to the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, on Tuesday. The letter asked that the immigration officers be given access to the park.

Texas vs Feds

The conflict between Texas and the federal government intensified when state troopers and National Guard members seized Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, defying the city officials.

On Jan. 12, National Guard members at the park prevented a Border Patrol agent from reaching the river where three migrants had drowned and two more were in danger, as per a court filing by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The filing stated that Mexican immigration officials informed Border Patrol agents at 9 p.m. that night that two migrants needed help on the American side near the boat ramp at Shelby Park. An hour before, a mother and her two children had died in the same spot, as per the Justice Department. When a Border Patrol supervisor asked National Guard troops at the park gate to let him help the migrants, one of them said that they had orders to block Border Patrol access.

The Border Patrol agent requested to talk to a National Guard supervisor, who told the agent that “Border Patrol was not permitted to enter the area even in emergency situations,” as per the court filing.

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#StandWithTexas

Netizens used the hashtag to show their support and solidarity for the people of Texas amid the border crisis, as well as to raise awareness and funds for relief efforts. Some celebrities, influencers, and politicians also joined the trend and shared their messages and donations.

Here are some of the posts-