Texas Secessionist: We May Be 'Closer Than We Think'

A Texan nationalist claimed the Lone Star State breaking away from the Union "could absolutely be closer than we think" amid the ongoing standoff with federal authorities over the Texas-Mexico border.

Tensions surged after the Supreme Court ruled on January 22, in a narrow 5-4 verdict, that federal agents can remove razor wire placed along the border on the orders of Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a bid to reduce migrant crossings.

In response, Abbott said he was invoking "Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself" against what he described as an "invasion," with 25 other Republican governors releasing a joint statement expressing their support for his position.

Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which campaigns for the state to become a fully independent nation, discussed the situation on his Texas News podcast, which is affiliated with the organization.

In the most recent edition of the podcast, released on January 30, Miller discussed the impact of the border dispute on his campaign for Texas independence, or Texit. He argued Abbott's policy is "in fact Texas standing up for our rights, the law and our sovereignty."

Miller said: "Sometimes you can get 100 years of history in a single day or a single week, that's a paraphrase obviously, and here we are. This is one of those situations where things seemed to be languishing a bit, then all of a sudden, in just a matter of time, here we are.

"We're at a point where Texit is on everyone's mind, both those for it and those against it. The border issue has now become at the forefront of the news cycle, and Texit has become the natural logical extension of what's happening down on the border. We're in the throes of getting what we've always talked about, which is a binding vote, a vote on Texas becoming a self-governing independent nation."

Miller also argued that the federal government has long frustrated efforts by state authorities to reduce border crossings, commenting:

"Every time Texas tries to do something to secure the border, the federal government comes in and interferes; or they've previously rendered the Texas efforts so neutered as to basically have Texans—the Texas military department and the department of public safety—operating as auxiliaries for the border patrol who are under orders to let them [migrants] across, process them, put them on buses and planes and ship them everywhere."

Referencing other states with Republican governors that backed Abbott, Miller went on to question if there are wider cracks in the American Union. He asked: "Does that mean then that we're going to see the spinning off not just of Texas but of the remaining states, of those other 25, and what does that mean for the Union? It's interesting times we live in folks. And I think that we're heading to a place where this is beyond a constitutional crisis."

Speaking to Newsweek, Miller said he is confident the border standoff is pushing more Texans to support a "yes" vote in a hypothetical vote on whether Texas should be an independent state.

"The current border issue has done two things. First, it has turned a significant number of undecided voters into 'yes' voters. It seems to have also had the effect of activating a significant number of independent voters and is pushing them to support a vote on TEXIT," Miller said.

Newsweek contacted Abbott's office by telephone, voicemail and online contact form for comment outside normal working hours.

During an earlier interview with Newsweek, James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, claimed Texas nationalism is "divorced from reality," though he admitted it had found a home within the state's Republican Party.

He said: "Texas nationalists calling for something akin to a Texit represent some combination of fantasy and symbolic gesture, each divorced from reality...The GOP party apparatus has become the favored dwelling place of extreme and esoteric elements, where such factions are treated much more seriously than they are among the general public.

"In some areas, they sometimes succeed in moving the center of the party to the right and in attracting attention to ideas and proposals that have little relation to reality—like the idea of an independent Texas."

Update 1/31/24 8:25 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Texas Nationalist Movement President Daniel Miller.