Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) highlighted a new coalition letter led by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and dozens of national and state leaders urging Congress to pass Arrington’s H.Res. 50 – a resolution affirming states’ constitutional authority to defend themselves when the federal government fails to secure the border.

The letter, signed by leading policy organizations, law enforcement officials, and conservative leaders across Texas and the country, underscores growing support for congressional action to clarify states’ sovereign authority under the Constitution.

The effort comes in response to the unprecedented border crisis under the Biden Administration and is aimed at ensuring states are never again left defenseless under a future administration.

“Our constitutional system does not render the states defenseless. To the contrary, states retain the unequivocal right to defend themselves against invasion and imminent threats,” the letter reads, in part. “We respectfully encourage your support of H.Res. 50. Doing so reaffirms the constitutional structure the Framers designed—one that preserves both national security and the sovereign capacity of states to defend themselves when necessary.”

Click HERE to read the full letter.

“Under Biden’s open-border chaos, millions of illegals invaded our southern border, flooding communities with drugs, crime, and criminals,” said Chairman Arrington. “Fortunately, border crossings are now at historic lows under President Trump’s leadership - but we cannot rely on who occupies the White House to determine whether our border is secure. The Constitution is clear: Article IV, Section 4 says the federal government ‘shall protect each [state] against invasion,’ but when the federal government fails to fulfill this constitutional duty, Article I, Section 10 expressly guarantees states the sovereign power to repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from ‘imminent danger.’ We’ve seen the consequences of federal failure, and states like Texas cannot afford another border crisis. Congress has the opportunity to pass my H.Res. 50 and ensure that states are not passive victims of a failed federal government under a future Democrat presidency.”

H.Res. 50 affirms states retain the sovereign authority under Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution to defend their territory and citizens from invasion or imminent danger, particularly when the federal government fails to meet its constitutional obligation under Article IV, Section 4 to protect states from invasion.

“The Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, forbids states from interfering with the federal government’s monopoly over our territorial sovereignty,” said John Yoo, constitutional scholar and former deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. “But the House of Representatives could make its own findings of fact that failures at the border rose to the level of an ‘imminent danger’ that would justify a state’s exercise of self-defense. Such a set of findings might bolster Texas’s case in the courts as well as its political case to the public. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R.-Texas, has introduced H.Res 50, for example, to do exactly that. Without such congressional support, Texas is likely to fail.”

Background: 

• In June 2021, Chairman Arrington introduced H.Res. 50 to reaffirm states’ constitutional right to secure their borders and protect their citizens when the federal government fails to act. 
• The resolution is grounded in the Constitution’s Guarantee Clause (Article IV, Section 4) and Article I, Section 10, which preserves states’ sovereign authority to act in self-defense when facing invasion or imminent danger. 
• Under the Biden administration’s failed border policy, record levels of illegal border crossings, cartel activity, and drug and human trafficking placed unprecedented strain on border states and communities. 
• During that time, Texas and other states were forced to take action to protect their citizens, while the federal government failed to fulfill its constitutional duty to provide for the common defense. 
• H.Res. 50 does not expand state authority – it affirms the constitutional balance of federalism, ensuring states are not left defenseless when Washington fails to act. 

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