The serious standoff between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over border security measures and immigration control has encountered new challenges.

According to a report in  the Texas Tribune, Daniel Miller, leader of the Texas secessionist movement, sees the situation as a validation of his belief that the state should seek independence to protect its borders. The context surrounds the U.S. Supreme Court decision, which supported the Biden administration on the issue of the use of barbed wire along the Rio Grande:

“At issue is the 47-acre Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, where Texas has for months been laying concertina wire along the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from crossing. In a 5-4 decision early last week, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, allowing U.S. Border Patrol agents to cut the wire to apprehend people who had crossed the river”.

Governor Abbott, backed by a coalition of powerful Republicans, argues that Texas faces an “invasion” of migrants, thus justifying the state’s right to act independently to protect its borders. This rhetoric, however, has been criticized by legal experts and academics who see it as a threat to the federal system and as potentially inciting violence at the border.

“After the Supreme Court decision last week, U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana, said that the ‘feds are staging a civil war and Texas should stand their ground” — a post that was shared and celebrated widely in far-right online communities, including those that were integral to the planning of ‘stop the steal’ protests in the lead up to the Jan. 6 riot”.

The Texas Tribune article highlights the growing acceptance of political violence in the United States, as indicated by recent research, and focuses on the legal theory of “Invasion” used by Texas to justify its actions. This theory is rejected by federal courts and judges, but it is still championed by prominent figures on the right, including former President Donald Trump.

In addition, the presence of extremist groups and militias that have mobilized around the conflict on the border is highlighted, with growing concerns about the possibility of violence. The rhetoric about the “invasion” also raises fanfares about its association with extremist ideologies such as the “great replacement theory”, which falsely promotes the idea of a conspiracy to replace the white population through immigration and diversity.

“A Tuesday report by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism found that transnational far-right groups have also used the standoff to rail against immigrants and proliferate baseless conspiracy theories about the ‘’intentional displacement of whites’.”

The issues surrounding the standoff, including the legal arguments, have heightened tensions between state and federal powers, and fears of escalation to violent clashes on the Texas border.