Migrants are seen outside a US Border Patrol Station in Texas<\/p>\n
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott received the support Thursday of all but one of the nation\u2019s Republican state governors in his feud with the Biden administration<\/a> over border security.<\/p>\n GOP governors from 25 states signed onto a joint statement in support of Abbott and the Lone Star State\u2019s \u201cconstitutional right to self-defense\u201d days after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration could remove razor wire<\/a> installed by Texas along a 30-mile stretch of land near the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass.<\/p>\n Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, who says he voted for President Biden<\/a> in 2020, was the only GOP holdout.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border,\u201d the statement<\/a> released by the Republican Governor\u2019s Association read.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation,\u201d the statement concludes.<\/p>\n Abbott on Wednesday proclaimed that Texas\u2019 right to self-defense<\/a> \u201csupersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,\u201d and he vowed<\/a> to \u201ccontinue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration,\u201d arguing that it\u2019s an \u201ceffective deterrent against the illegal border crossings encouraged by Biden\u2019s open border policies.\u201d<\/p>\n Several of the Republican governors that signed the joint statement have also issued individual declarations of support for Texas and some have pledged to provide the state with resources to combat illegal migrant crossing.<\/p>\n \u201cI am willing to send National Guard down there to stand alongside,\u201d South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said during an appearance on Fox News, noting that she has already done so in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cI want it to be a different arrangement this time,\u201d she added. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to enforce Texas law and if I\u2019m going to have the ability to use these soldiers in a way that\u2019s effective, that\u2019ll be absolutely fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the situation at the southern border \u201cuntenable\u201d and the Biden administration\u2019s immigration policies \u201ca total failure\u201d in a tweet vowing to back Texas in its standoff with the feds.<\/p>\n \u201cOhio will continue to do our part to support Texas and support policies to secure our border,\u201d he said, noting that the Ohio National Guard has had a \u201ccontinuous presence on the border since October 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf President Biden won\u2019t defend us, states will have to defend themselves. Arkansas stands with Texas,\u201d Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted,<\/p>\n \u201cThe Biden Administration continues to refuse to secure the border. Virginia supports [Abbott]\u00a0 and Texas\u2019 constitutional right to defend itself,\u201d Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote on X.<\/p>\n The Lone Star State and the Biden administration have been at loggerheads over immigration enforcement amid record-levels of illegal border-crossings that Abbott says has overwhelmed towns along the US-Mexico border.<\/p>\n Last month, the Justice Department threatened to sue Texas<\/a> if it enforced a new law that allows state authorities to arrest, jail, prosecute and deport migrants who enter the country illegally.<\/p>\n The DOJ also sued the state over its construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande<\/a>, which courts have ordered Abbott to remove.<\/p>\n Texas has bused over 95,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, including New York and Chicago, as part of an effort to get President Biden to \u201creverse course on his open border policies,\u201d according to Abbott.<\/p>\n