Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s use of state resources for political posturing on immigration, no doubt to feed his long-standing ambitions for federal office, has always been dangerous and counterproductive.
His Operation Lone Star, which drew on various states’ law enforcement and National Guard units to patrol the border, was an operational and legal disaster, apparently resulting in the suicide of some soldiers and being ruled unconstitutional by a Texas judge for usurping a federal government function.
Rather than reevaluating his penchant for stunts, Abbott last week doubled down, sending state law enforcement to conduct redundant checks of commercial vehicles traveling north from Mexico, something the federal Customs and Border Protection already does with much more competence. The operation slowed cross-border traffic to a crawl, and even a brief standstill as Mexican truck drivers blockaded various ports of entry in protest of the massive delays Abbott caused. Friday, after condemnation rained down, he pulled the plug, claiming victory.
With his latest provocation, Abbott graduated from encroaching on the federal government’s asylum processing to disrupting international trade with one of our biggest trade partners, obstructing supply chains and risking potential increases in some food and consumer goods at a time when steep inflation has already stressed American families’ budgets.
Clearly, ignoring Abbott’s antics has only made his buffoonery escalate. If he faces no legal or political consequences for his persistent interference into federal operations, then he’s just going to keep doing it again and again. So when do these consequences arrive?
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