Texas Gov. Abbott tells Biden he is invoking 'invasion' clause of Constitution because of border 'failures'

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Texas governor declares an invasion at southern border as migrant encounters soar

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss the latest on the border crisis and how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is responding to the matter.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent a letter to the White House to explain the need for more aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration into the state.

The letter, addressed to President Biden, accuses the administration of willfully ignoring the ongoing mass influx of illegal immigrants into the country's southern states.

"Your inaction has led to catastrophic consequences. Under your watch, America is suffering the highest volume of illegal immigration in the history of our country. This past year, more than 2 million immigrants tried to enter the country illegally, coming from more than 100 countries across the globe," Abbott wrote in the Wednesday letter. "Worse yet, your failed border policies recently prompted a United Nations agency to declare that the border between the United States and Mexico is the deadliest land crossing in the world."

TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT INVOKES CONSTITUTIONAL 'INVASION CLAUSE' AMID IMMIGRATION CRISIS

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Abbott announced Tuesday that he will be invoking an "invasion" clause of both the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution to combat ongoing, overwhelming illegal immigration in the state.

The governor noted in his Tuesday announcement a list of intended actions that he claims are covered by the clause, including the activation of National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) personnel to safeguard the border and turn back would-be migrants from illegally crossing the border.

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT AUTHORIZES LAW ENFORCEMENT TO RETURN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO BORDER

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent a letter to the White House to explain the need for more aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration into his state. (Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

"You must reinstate the policies that you eliminated, or craft and implement new policies, in order to fulfill your constitutional duty to enforce federal immigration laws and protect the States against invasion," Abbott wrote in his Wednesday letter. "Two years of inaction on your part now leave Texas with no choice but to escalate our efforts to secure our State. Your open-border policies, which have catalyzed an unprecedented crisis of illegal immigration, are the sole cause of Texas having to invoke our constitutional authority to defend ourselves."

Read the Abbott letter to Biden:

Under Abbott's new initiative, DPS personnel will also be ordered to arrest and return illegal migrants to the border.

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Migrants cross into the U.S. in Normandy, Texas, on Nov. 3, 2022. (Fox News)

The governor has stated that he will be deploying gunboats for defense of the southern border and will designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.