Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representative Jodey Arrington (TX-19) will be joined by over 30 Members of Congress, elected officials from Texas and Arizona, and border security policy experts to sound the alarm on a mounting crisis fueled by the Biden Administration’s refusal to protect U.S. citizens from an invasion by paramilitary cartels and convicted criminals at our southern border.

“President Biden’s unraveling of Trump’s policies as well as his failure to enforce immigration laws and secure our border has created an unprecedented crisis at our southern border. The President’s open-border policies coupled with his unilateral surrender of our southern border to paramilitary cartels have left states completely overwhelmed and under siege with record human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other criminal activity pouring into our communities.” said Arrington. “This is an invasion of our great nation, and the Constitution is clear: when the federal government fails to protect states in such circumstances, those states have the sovereign right to defend their borders and protect their citizens. 

“States like Texas do not have to be passive victims of a failed federal government, and I commend Governor Abbott and local leaders for declaring a breach of the Biden Administration’s obligation to repel this invasion and exercising their broad constitutional powers to protect Texans,” Arrington continued. “I also appreciate the leadership of my colleagues on the Border Security Caucus and Republican Study Committee (RSC) for standing with Texas and supporting border states’ right to defend themselves.”

Representative Arrington has been calling this an invasion for over a year now. He introduced H.J. Res. 50 in June 2021 – a resolution affirming states’ powers under Articles IV Section 4 and I Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, which recognizes their guaranteed authority to repel an invasion and defend their citizenry from “imminent danger.” At least 70 Members of Congress from 27 states have sponsored Rep. Arrington’s resolution demonstrating broad Congressional support for the right of states to enforce immigration laws and secure the border when the federal government refuses to do so.

Border Security Caucus Co-Chairs Brian Babin (TX-36) Andy Biggs (AZ-05) echoed Rep. Arrington’s concerns with the crisis at the border.

"President Biden has a constitutional obligation to protect states from invasion. Instead, he’s abandoned them entirely. It’s past time Texas and other border states unite to hold the President accountable for the catastrophe he’s encouraged and enabled,” Babin stated.

“The Biden Administration has deliberately dismantled the nation’s border security and immigration enforcement apparatus. The result is a border crisis of epic proportions where an unprecedented number of illegal aliens and drugs are flowing across our border,” Biggs stated. “Since the Biden Administration refuses to take the necessary steps to address the crisis they’ve created, states must act. States have a constitutional right to defend themselves from this invasion.”

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich will also join Rep. Arrington and his colleagues at Friday’s press conference. The Attorney General commended Rep. Arrington for his leadership on this issue.

“While the Arizona Attorney General’s Office was the first in the country to recognize the border crisis as a legal invasion, it is now painfully obvious to all. Every state is now a border state. I appreciate Congressman Arrington’s collaboration and leadership in this fight to uphold the rule of law,” said Brnovich.