Greg Abbott Rebuked by Texas Newspaper for 'Performative' Border Defiance

The editorial board of the San Antonio Express-News criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his administration for their "defiant and provocative" reaction to a U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding border control in the state.

Abbott's immigration policies took a hit on Monday after the Supreme Court sided with President Joe Biden's administration and ruled that federal Border Patrol agents were authorized to remove the razor wire that was installed under Abbott's orders near the border city of Eagle Pass. The White House had argued that the wire prevented Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they crossed the Rio Grande.

The Texas governor, an outspoken critic of Biden over immigration issues, has vowed that the fight for his wire border "is not over" despite the legal blow earlier this week.

Other Republican leaders in the state vouched for Abbott's policies following the SCOTUS ruling, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who said in a statement on Monday that the high court's "temporary order allows Biden to continue his illegal effort to aid the foreign invasion of America."

In an op-ed piece published Thursday, the Express-News' editorial board raised concerns about Abbott and Paxton's response to the SCOTUS ruling, claiming that their words are fueling talk from the far-right about an impending civil war.

"A growing chorus of voices on the far-right, stoked by the performative defiance of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General [Ken] Paxton, have made the Rio Grande the latest clash between states' rights and federal authority," the board wrote, adding later in the piece that the response to the Supreme Court's ruling "from Texas Republicans and their allies has been defiant and provocative."

The op-ed pointed out recent comments made by conservative lawmakers who side with Abbott's administration on the issue, including Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who told Fox News earlier this week that his state has "a duty under the Constitution[...]and every other norm of leadership of any sovereign state, to protect your citizens, period, full stop."

"Wrong," wrote the Express-News. "The Constitution Roy cites invests the Supreme Court with final authority; it doesn't give states the power to nullify federal laws.

"This is about more than the Biden administration's record on immigration, which is consistent with that of his predecessors in being ineffective, if not abysmal," the board continued. "Roy's cavalier disregard for a Supreme Court decision he doesn't like illustrates the larger stakes."

"Our constitutional democracy is threatened if governors and members of Congress believe the law only applies to their interests; that they have the option to choose which Supreme Court decisions they will comply with or ignore; and that the federal government is something to be demonized as an accomplice in the 'foreign invasion of America,'" the op-ed continued.

The editorial board also criticized comments from Louisiana Sen. Clay Higgins, who said earlier this week that the Biden administration is "staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground."

"Talk of an impending 'civil war' is reckless and incendiary," read the op-ed. "It's as if those talking this way don't realize the possible consequences of their rhetoric. Or they do, and they are trying to speak it into being."

Newsweek has reached out to Abbott's press office via email for comment.