Calls for Texas to declare independence from the United States are growing in the Lone Star State after the Supreme Court's decision on Monday siding with the Biden administration over a border barrier dispute.
In a 5 to 4 vote, a majority of the Supreme Court justices allowed federal officials to cut or remove parts of a razor-wire barrier that Texas had erected along the border with Mexico to keep migrants from crossing into its territory. Conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
The top court's decision has sparked anger among Texans who support the measures taken by Republican Governor Greg Abbott to fight illegal immigration in the state, which has seen an influx of people crossing the border from Mexico.
Hundreds of posts have appeared since Monday on X, formerly Twitter, under the hashtag "Texit," which refers to Texas' secession from the United States.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Abbott's office for comment by email on Tuesday morning.
"As a Texan, I wholeheartedly believe that Texas' only viable option moving forward is to vote on #TEXIT," wrote an X user who calls herself a 9th-generation Texian.
"The federal government has all but declared war on Texas. We will not continue to tolerate this blatant usurpation of Texas' sovereignty and Constitutional right to defense," she continued, adding that the state should invoke its right to "alter, abolish, or reform our government as we may feel expedient, as guaranteed in Article 1 Section 2 of the Texas Constitution."
Another X user and resident of the state posted: "Texas has state rights to protect ourselves, its citizens, and our borders when a treasonous federal government tries to use treason to override that. The #TEXIT movement is probably stronger than ever now."
The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court's ruling, saying it believes "that the federal government has, once again, failed Texas." The movement is now urging Abbott to "call an immediate special session to explore Texas independence."
Republican Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana also condemned the Supreme Court's ruling, saying that the "Feds are staging a Civil War" and that "Texas should hold its ground."
Other social media users on X decried the U.S. judicial system and said it was now time for "Texit," adding that they had lost hope in the federal government.
"It's time for Texas to secede and make its own laws. The rest of the red states will join," wrote an account called "state secession."
This, in part, reflects what the Texas governor has been saying for the past few years since the launch of "Operation Lone Star" in 2021, a security effort led by the state that added thousands of Texas state troopers and National Guard soldiers along the border with Mexico.
According to Abbott, who has repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration over the measures he has promoted to stop migrants from crossing into Texas—including the installation of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande—the state's government is stepping in to fill the gap left by the inaction of the federal government.
Despite rising calls for "Texit," the state cannot legally secede from the U.S., as it was established following the Civil War, which saw the victories of the union and Texas rejoining the nation. In the 1869 case Texas v. White, it was decided that individual states could not unilaterally decide to leave the union.
The Supreme Court's decision on Monday followed the latest spat between the federal government and Texas after the state sued the Biden administration in October for what it called the intentional destruction of parts of its border barrier with Mexico by federal officials.
The Biden administration brought the case up to the Supreme Court, which ultimately sided with the federal government, saying that federal agents have the right to cut through the state-erected barrier in Texas if they deem it necessary.
"This is not over. Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages," Abbott wrote on X on Monday. "I will continue to defend Texas' constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property."
In a statement to Newsweek, Abbott's spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said: "The Biden Administration has repeatedly cut wire that Texas installed to stop illegal crossings, opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants. The absence of razor wire and other deterrence strategies encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry, while making the job of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers more dangerous and difficult. This case is ongoing, and Governor Abbott will continue fighting to defend Texas' property and its constitutional authority to secure the border."
Mahaleris did not comment on the calls for Texas' independence.
Update 01/23/24, 10:56 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Abbott's spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
