Mark Brnovich, the former attorney general of Arizona, has declared that the crisis at the southern border constitutes an invasion, thereby giving Texas the constitutional right to self-defense. Brnovich voiced this opinion during a Judiciary Committee hearing titled "The Southern Border Crisis: The Constitution and the States," held on Jan. 30.
Brnovich, who served as Arizona's attorney general from 2015 to 2023, expressed his concerns about national security during his testimony before The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. He stated, "I worry that our nation is under assault from cartels and gangs that have seized control of our southern border." His extensive legal career includes experience in prosecuting high-profile cases in the Gang/Repeat Offender Unit and handling gambling law as assistant attorney general.
In his written testimony, Brnovich argued that the "unprecedented amount of lawlessness, human smuggling, sex trafficking and illegal drugs flooding into our country" qualifies the situation at the southern border as an invasion. He referenced Article 1 Section 10 - the State Self-Defense Clause of the Constitution - which allows a state to defend itself against invasion.
Furthering his argument, Brnovich referred to Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution which permits a state to defend itself against "foreign hostilities [and] ambitious or vindictive enterprises of a [a state's] more powerful neighbors." In his view, cartels and gangs operating at the southern border fall into these categories. He underscored a state's right to self-defense against invasion, particularly when federal government intervention is lacking.
According to The Hill, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has accused the federal government of violating its agreement with states. This assertion followed a Supreme Court ruling permitting Border Patrol to remove razor wire installed by Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Abbott contends that this action breaches mutual understanding between states in response to court decisions.
On Jan. 24, Abbott issued a statement saying, "President Biden has instructed his agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants. The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense. For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary."
