The Texas border situation explained and will it spark a 'civil war'

The situation unfolding along the stretch of the Texas border with Mexico has become one of the biggest talking points in the US over recent days.

Texas governor Greg Abbott invoked his state’s “constitutional authority to defend itself” on Wednesday amid a standoff between Texas National Guard troops and the federal government.

The state refused to comply with a Supreme Court order allowing border patrol agents to remove razor wire placed by Mr Abbott’s administration at a park in Eagle Pass, on the Rio Grande.

He also hit out at President Joe Biden in a statement, defending his own decision and accused Biden of refusing to enforce immigration laws.

Mr Abbot wrote: "President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress. Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border."

It led to the standoff being framed as something similar to a “civil war” by notable figures on the right wing of the Republican party.

Rep. Clay Higgins, a GOP congressman from Louisiana, said following the Supreme Court decision: “The feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground.”

Others, like Republican congressman Chip Roy called for Texas officials to completely ignore the Supreme Court ruling.

“This opinion is unconscionable and Texas should ignore it on behalf of the [Border Patrol Union] agents who will be put in a worse position by the opinion and the Biden administration’s policies,” Mr Roy wrote on X.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, encouraged "all willing states" to deploy their own National Guard members to the state.

Trump said in a statement: "We encourage all willing States to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of Illegals, and to remove them back across the Border. All Americans should support the commonsense measures by Texas authorities to protect the Safety, Security, and Sovereignty of Texas, and of the American people."

Now, people have shared genuine fears over escalation.

Writing on Twitter after the statement was made public, Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D, wrote on X: "Trump is openly calling for states to take up arms against the federal government, which is as close to calling for civil war as you can get without actually using the words. This is an alarming escalation and this situation could spiral out of control very, very quickly."

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