This surprising offer comes amid an ongoing court dispute between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the state’s efforts to combat the surge in illegal migrant crossings along the US-Mexico border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have been wrangling in court over migrant deterrence techniques employed by the governor to stem the enormous influx of illegal migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border.
The number of interactions at the US-Mexico border has increased significantly, with over 2.4 million reported during the fiscal year 2023, compared to about 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
In a recent legal blow to Abbott, the Supreme Court ruled with the Biden administration on Monday, allowing federal officials to temporarily remove razor wire along portions of the southern border while litigation is ongoing. The White House has labelled Abbott’s measures, such as the razor wire and circular saw floating barriers on the Rio Grande River, as “dangerous” and “cruel,” while Abbott has defended the razor wire as “an effective deterrent.”
Some 25 governors offered help to Texas. The problem was domestic until Sergey Mironov, a Russian legislator, pledged to help Texas achieve independence from the United States on social media. On Saturday, Mironov, the leader of the faction “A Just Russia—For Truth” in the Russian legislature, stated on X, “In the fight between Texas and the United States, I support the state. At the very least, Texas does not interfere in the affairs of other countries. If necessary, we are prepared to assist with the independence referendum. Of course, we will recognise the People’s Republic of Texas if one exists. Good luck! We are with you!”
Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, wrote the article in Russian and translated it into a separate post. In his Sunday post, he criticised Mironov’s comments as hypocritical, saying, “Says the representative of a country that oppresses its ethnic minority, deems all independence movements within Russia organised by foreign secret services, beats up and jails public activists.”
A U.S. Department of State official speaking under the condition of anonymity responded to Newsweek: “The Kremlin is trying in the most obvious way to concoct a false narrative that will sow division in our country. We hope people see this narrative for what it is—standard Kremlin nonsense.”
