Specter of Civil War: Biden's Border Policy Could Lead to 'Huge Explosion' – Ex-Pentagon Analyst
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Texas' row with the federal government over the state's border policies has evoked a specter of the civil war, Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst at the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik.
The migrant crisis has been increasingly haunting the US since President Joe Biden assumed office and revoked border restrictions implemented by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
However, some red states rebelled against Biden's open border agenda, with Texas kicking off Operation Lone Star in March 2021, bringing together the Texas Department of Public Safety and the National Guard.
Recently, the Texas National Guard "seized" a section of the US-Mexico border, blocking federal border patrol agents from accessing it and raising legal disputes. The US Supreme Court ruled that federal agents may cut the wire barriers placed by the Lone Star authorities to deter illegal migrants from entering the state. Nonetheless, 25 Republican governors signed a letter supporting Texas in the border control fight with the federal government over the "invasion" of migrants.
"This whole immigration issue has become one total mess," Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst at the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik. "We're going to see where it goes. But it appears that [Texas] Governor [Greg] Abbott and the governors of 25 other states are very firmly opposed to what the Biden administration is doing. And I would add that it's also suggesting a line in the sand. If you look at the states that are involved, they're mostly right in the middle and approaching toward the east. And it's really a clear division of blue states versus red states in this country today, which is where the political lines have been drawn. And this is all happening leading up to the 2024 elections. And I'm afraid that if... The way things are going right now, if Biden wins reelection, there could be a huge explosion in this country."
'It's Like Our Old Civil War'
Per Maloof, the situation is now boiling down to a potential confrontation between the state of Texas and 25 Republican states on the one side and the federal government on the other.
Meanwhile, Democrats appear to be unwilling to back down: they are calling on Biden to "federalize" the Texas National Guard thus upending the state's Operation Lone Star.
"You would have a confrontation," the former Pentagon analyst warned. "There would be no question about a confrontation. That are some other states that are bringing their National Guards, their state national Guards to Texas, Montana has done it, Arizona has done it. The federal government would have to federalize all of them. Is there money for it? You'd have to pay those reservists because it's a recall to active duty to the federal government. Right now it's not in the budget."
29 October 2023, 15:41 GMT
One also has to bear in mind that Texas has forces to protect itself even without federal government assistance, according to Sputnik's interlocutor.
"Texas' governor also has the Texas police and there are also other types of local police forces scattered around the country that are not subject to federal recall, that can, be utilized from these other 25 states. So, and it hasn't been mentioned yet, but, a number of these states have, militias – people who are quiet organizations that conceivably could offer their services to the state of Texas and be deputized by the state of Texas. They would not be subject to any recall by the federal government. But the question will be the issue of training, discipline. So that would be an additional factor which probably could be dealt with, if this came down to a very serious confrontation."
Maloof drew attention to the fact that despite the US Supreme Court's recent ruling concerning the wire barriers at the border, the Border Patrol – which is a federal agency – has not moved to demolish the barriers so far. The crux of the matter is that the Border Patrol "does not want to have a confrontation with state officials, many of whom probably live next door to each other half the time and they work closely together any other time," the expert explained.
"It's like our old civil war. Back in the 19th century – brothers against each other, taking sides. That's basically how that worked out. And we're hoping to avoid that again. But the potential is there, and hopefully cooler heads can manage," the expert said, adding that he hopes that the situation would be solved within the court system.
Trump Calls on US States to Support Texas
Ex-President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner in the 2024 race, called on "all willing states to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of Illegals, and to remove them back across the border" on his Truth Social account.
He pledged that, if re-elected, he would "work hand in hand" with Abbott and other border states to "stop the invasion, seal the border, and rapidly begin the largest domestic deportation operation in history."
"Those Biden has let in should not get comfortable because they will be going home," Trump warned.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also sided with Texas, tweeting: "A country without borders is not a country at all." RFK highlighted that the Lone Star was "right" to protect its borders.
For his part, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, one of those 25 who signed a letter in support of Abbott's border measures, lambasted Team Biden for refusing "to secure the border" and hailed Texas' "constitutional right to defend itself."
The border issue is currently high on the agenda as the Biden administration is trying to secure a multi-billion-dollar package for Ukraine and Israel in exchange for a bipartisan compromise migrant deal. However, after segments from the bipartisan agreements were leaked to the press, several Republican lawmakers concluded it would be "dead on arrival" in the House of Representatives meaning that Team Biden wouldn't get its Ukraine package any time soon.
"It has now become a major stumbling block in our foreign policy, particularly toward whether or not the United States will continue to fund Ukraine or even Israel," Maloof said. "And, in the US Congress, this issue has become front and center. The deal that's being worked out in the Senate is to basically allow for monies and to allow a certain amount, a certain number of illegals to come in every day. And if it exceeds a certain level, then they will be disallowed. The House Speaker Mike Johnson has declared that to be dead on arrival in the House of Representatives. It will not be accepted. Basically, they want illegal immigration stopped."
The GOP raised the issue of migrant reform because Biden is not acting on existing laws prohibiting illegal immigration, the expert stressed. He bemoaned the fact that many migrants who want to get into the US legally are now disenchanted by the mess at the border.
"Frankly, there's really no reason for additional legislation anywhere," he said. "Because existing legislation already allows for shutting down the border if you have illegals coming in or if you have 'an invasion', which we're now seeing every day. The Biden administration just refuses to act on it.
"They campaigned on allowing immigrants to come in. They didn't say how, but now we know they just open the door and let them come in. There are procedures for those people who go through the legal process. They are absolutely very upset over what's occurring because it takes years for them to get approvals and nothing is being done to expedite or reward their doing things legally."
