Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at the southern border
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Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb plans to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at a joint press conference at a southern border city on Sunday, along with 13 other governors who've backed Abbott in his fight with the feds over securing the border with Mexico.
The battle is over Texas' $11 billion initiative called "Operation Lone Star," in which state officials have been installing razor wire and other physical barriers along the Rio Grande to deter illegal immigration over the Biden Administration's objections.
Abbott in October sued the federal government for cutting down the razor wire; in late January, in response to an emergency petition from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal government, without explaining why.
Shortly after the ruling, 25 Republican governors, including Holcomb, issued a joint statement supporting Texas' "right to self-defense."
"We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border," they wrote. "We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally."
The 14 governors will join Abbott at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, a city of about 30,000 that borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and where Abbott has blocked off access to federal border patrol agents, despite the Supreme Court decision.
At stake is the constitutional question of who has ultimate authority over securing borders, states or the federal government.
A spokesperson for Holcomb said he will not be using state funds to travel to Texas.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter@kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Gov. Holcomb to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at southern border
