Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama, 4th District) has joined a number of GOP lawmakers who have expressed support for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s defiance of a Supreme Court order to allow federal agents access to the Texas-Mexico border.
During a community luncheon hosted by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce Friday, Jan. 26, Aderholt described issues at the Southern border as a “crisis situation” and said he supported the governor’s efforts there.
“I support Gov. Abbott’s work down there — because it is a real problem down there,” Aderholt said.
The 47-acre Shelby Park located in the city of Eagle Pass, Texas, has become the center of a standoff between Texas National Guard members and federal Border Patrol agents attempting to access the border.
Last October, Gov. Kay Ivey sent 275 Alabama National Guard members to assist Texas as the state filed a lawsuit against the federal government after border patrol agents cut through sections of razor wire placed along the Rio Grande in attempts to assist injured people.
The razor wire can be seen in a video uploaded to Aderholt’s X (formerly Twitter) account on Jan. 3 as he and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson visit Eagle Pass.
According to a court filing by the U.S. Department of Justice, national guard members blocked a border patrol agent from accessing the river on Jan. 12, after they were alerted by Mexican immigration officials that two migrants were in distress. A mother, along with her 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son had drowned in the the area earlier the same evening, according to the DOJ.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton disputed the DOJ’s claims in a subsequent filing which stated, “Mexican officials had the situation under control.”
On Monday, Jan 22, SCOTUS ordered Texas to allow federal agents access to the border and to cut or remove razor wire placed by state officials until a final ruling is made. Abbott has since continued to deny federal agents access.
“I have already declared an invasion under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 [of the Constitution] to invoke 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. The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state las, to secure the Texas border,” Abbott said in a statement released Wednesday.
Ivey backed Abbott’s statement on X stating, “Texas, you can count on Alabama to have your back,” which was shared by Aderholt in his own show of support, adding, “God bless, Texas.”
“Gov. Abbott is right there on the front lines of that [the border crisis] and it’s an issue that has to be dealt with,” Aderholt said Friday. “If the federal government isn’t going to do something we’ve got to figure out something.”
In July 2023, Ivey defied a SCOTUS order for Alabama lawmakers to create a second majority-Black congressional district.
During the Friday luncheon, Aderholt — who acts as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee — noted just less than $13 million in an upcoming round of local appropriations earmarked for the 2024 Congressional budget. Last June, he also secured $1.4 billion for projects throughout the State funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Aderholt said he was not concerned that the growing trend of states openly defying SCOTUS orders and federal mandates would affect his ability to continue securing federal funds for Alabama.
“The earmarks that we get for this area, a court has passed into law. I get those inserted into the bill so they become law, and the president or anyone else [don’t] have the authority to remove those,” he said.