Idaho Gov. Brad Little heads to Mexico border; lawmaker wants to confront ‘invasion’

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little is headed to the U.S.-Mexico border in support of Texas’s legal standoff against the federal government — a move the governor’s office called “unprecedented actions taken to protect Americans.”

Little announced he will attend a Sunday news conference alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and 13 other Republican governors at Eagle Pass, Texas.

Conservative states have objected to federal management of the border since Democratic President Joe Biden took office and challenged the U.S. Supreme Court in January. After the high court ruled that federal agents could remove razor wire erected by Texas officials, Little joined other Republican governors and released a statement that he stands in “solidarity” with Abbott, as the border state moves to block federal officials from reaching the border.

Little last week announced his plan to send Idaho State Police troopers to the Texas border as part of his pledge. The governor has previously sent Idaho law enforcement to the border, like a 2021 trip, which cost more than $53,000.

Federal officials have argued that Texas’s wire barricades have prevented border agents from patrolling the border and from providing medical care to migrants at risk of drowning, hypothermia or heat exposure. A spokesperson for Little did not respond to a question from a reporter about whether states should follow Supreme Court orders.

The U.S. border with Mexico has seen a surge in migrant crossings in recent months, raising registered encounters between migrants and agents to higher levels than have been seen in 20 years. The situation has prompted a shift from Biden, who promised this month to “shut down the border” if a deadlocked immigration deal passes Congress.

IDAHO LAWMAKER WANTS COMPACT FOR ‘INVASION’

Other Republicans have also pushed to move legislation on the southern border.

A North Idaho lawmaker introduced a bill Thursday for Idaho to join together with other states to combat a rise in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border — a proposition that raises constitutional questions about its legality.

The bill by Rep. Tony Wisniewski, R-Post Falls, would create a formal compact with any other states that are interested in sharing intelligence from law enforcement agencies, state resources “to build a physical barrier” and a surveillance system on state land, as well as any other actions necessary to secure the southern border. Sen. Phil Hart, R-Kellogg, also sponsored the bill with Wisniewski.

“Texas has defined this as an invasion, which it truly is,” Wisniewski told a legislative committee Thursday. “It’s affecting cities throughout the country that are overwhelmed by this influx.”

“Wisniewski added that the bill would allow the governor “formal authorization from the Legislature” to continue with his actions.

BILL RAISES CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

A clause of the U.S. Constitution forbids states from entering into “any agreement or compact” with another state “unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.”

“Texas might have an argument (for that), but where would that argument come from in Idaho?” asked Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, at the meeting.

Wisniewski said Idaho is being “severely impacted” by drugs like fentanyl moving across the southern border and that migrants are using social services that are meant for American citizens. Undocumented immigrants pay more than $9 billion in income taxes each year, and many also into the Social Security system but are not eligible to benefit from it when they retire, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“This is the closest thing you can get to a physical invasion of an army,” he said.

Abbott wrote that Biden has “broken the compact” between the federal government and the states in a January statement.

“Compact theory,” a reading of the U.S. Constitution, claims that the federal government was created by states agreeing to it, and that states can also undo that agreement. Abbott wrote that he has “declared an invasion” and invoked “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,” he wrote.