Leo Terrell: Texas Gov. Abbott Has a Constitutional Right to Protect His State from Unlawful Entry of Migrants

Smith: “You have been sounding off on this for years, the crisis at our southern border. Leo, it appears by what we are seeing and hearing this is only getting worse.”
TERRELL: “Sandra, you’re absolutely right. And Governor Abbott is doing everything possible. This is why he’s invoking Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the Constitution. There is an invasion going on. And I want to make sure the Fox viewers understand. This is not a military war invasion, this is an army of illegal migrants coming to the country without permission. An unlawful intrusion, Sandra. And what is happening is there is a response by Governor Abbott, not by President Biden, who is admitted that the border is not secure, he’s taking his constitutional right to protect the citizens of Texas. He has a right to protect his — his state from unlawful entry, Sandra.”
Smith: “Yeah. And just to be clear, you know, you used to be criticized by the left for saying what you just said, but you now have a White House who downplayed this for years and ignored this crisis for years, actually calling it that, a crisis. President Biden did so recently, Karine Jean-Pierre on that White House press briefing room, addressing it as it is now. Gere’s Greg Abbott making the case. On the constitutional right, he says he has to defend — to defend the state from this invasion, as you just put it. ‘James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, emphasized that Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 would allow Virginia state militia to be called forth to suppress smugglers who had endangered their state. Today, Texas faces a similar but starker threat than Virginia’s smugglers, with Mexican drug cartels that operate as paramilitary forces on our border.’ So is he going to be allowed to protect his borders there in Texas?”
TERRELL: “He has a legal ground, with that section you just pointed out, Sandra, yes. Let me be very clear, yes, because he has a legal ground. We don’t have smugglers back 200 years ago, we have illegal migrants entering the country without permission and unlawful entry resulting into an invasion into Texas and every state in this country. Every state —“
Smith: “Yeah.”
TERRELL: “— is a border state. And I would submit to you that he has a constitutional right to do it.”