MORITZ: Lawsuit against Texas a no-lose bargain for Abbott − and maybe a no-win for Biden

AUSTIN — In raw political terms, Gov. Greg Abbott can easily afford to lose the legal fight brought by the U.S. Justice Department against him and the state of Texas.

President Joe Biden cannot. In fact, an argument can be made that Biden can ill afford to win.

Let's look at how the immigration issue has played out through a political lens since Biden replaced former President Donald Trump in 2021 and changed the national approach to dealing with people crossing without legal authorization into the United States in general − and into Texas in particular.

Abbott seized the initiative right out of the gate. Units of the Texas National Guard were deployed to the border. So were scores of state troopers. Billions of tax dollars are still showering down on the governor's Operation Lone Star.

Biden, on the other hand, announced he was tasking Vice President Kamala Harris with seeking a solution to the root causes of illegal immigration.

Harris has resisted the informal title of "border czar," but thanks to relentless messaging by Abbott and other Republicans, the moniker stuck and continues to stick. Because whatever role the vice president is playing on immigration, it's hardly a public one. And the governor gets to put points on the political scoreboard by playing that up every chance he gets.

For Abbott, the immigration crisis has been one national photo op after another. He was at center stage when he hosted several other Republican governors at the border to beat up Biden. He was alongside the ex-president in the South Texas town of Roma where work on the steel fencing along the Rio Grande was halted, and they both beat up Biden.

More: Feds ask court to order removal of floating barrier from Rio Grande as lawsuit proceeds

And in May, there was Abbott on an airport tarmac in Austin with even more National Guard soldiers in full battle gear marching toward military cargo planes for yet another buildup in South Texas. And, yes, he used the event to beat up Biden.

While the governor through the 2022 election cycle that brought him a third term used leaders from the Texas Department of Public Safety as set pieces on his political chessboard, Biden and members of his administration have seldom followed suit when it comes to the U.S. Border Patrol and other frontline federal agencies.

The Border Patrol often puts out news releases when they bust a transnational drug operation or when they rescue exploited migrants from stash houses and truck containers. But because the agency is not inherently political, the releases tend to lack the flair and drama Abbott and his aides bring to public events dealing with immigration.

More: Texas prison inmates making the razor wire used by Operation Lone Star along Rio Grande

If in the lawsuit filed July 24 in the Western District of Texas the court rules in favor of Texas and Abbott, Biden's Justice Department looks weak and ineffective. That would be a direct reflection on the president himself.

But let's suppose the court says Abbott overstepped his legal authority when he ordered the string of floating buoys dropped into the international river to deter migrant crossings. The governor can still rail against the ruling, make good on his promise to appeal and thump his chest for being willing to take bold action while the feds are tying his hands.

Where does that put Biden? The buoys will be removed, and perhaps so too the miles of razor wire on the Rio Grande shoreline. Does the president then signal to Abbott that if Texas applies for the permit the Justice Department says is needed for the buoys that the Army Corps of Engineers will grant it?

If so, the president is seen as following the governor's lead.

What if Biden chooses instead to beef up the federal presence at the border, and accede to the demands to the Democratic base that migrants who are apprehended at the border are given food, medical attention and other amenities? Will Abbott curtail his criticism?

Don't hold your breath. No matter what the president does at the border, it won't be enough to suit Abbott. And the governor has little incentive to tone down his rhetoric on the immigration front, even if the court takes away some of his tactical tools.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: MORITZ: Legal merits aside, federal lawsuit is a gift for Abbott