this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2024
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday accused the federal government of breaking the compact with the states following a Supreme Court ruling on Monday that cleared the way for the Border Patrol to remove razor wire installed by Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a statement, Abbott said, “President Biden has refused to enforce [immigration] laws and has even violated them.”

It’s the latest escalation in a legal and political standoff between Texas and the federal government, though Abbott stopped short of announcing any specific measures.

He has been pushing constitutional boundaries on state versus federal jurisdiction of border and immigration enforcement for the better part of two years; his legal team, including state Attorney General Ken Paxton, first publicly toyed with the idea of formally declaring a border “invasion” in April 2022.

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[–] Brainsploosh@lemmy.world 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

I can't find direct data on how many illegal immigrations are happening in Texas every year, but the undocumented population is estimated to be about 1,5 million, and stable. [source]

Between 2022 and 2023, the legal migrant population increased by 10k, and eligible migrants decreased by 50k. If we assume that the whole difference is only due to illegal immigrants naturalizing, that would mean that the Texas yearly influx of immigrants is 60k. [source]

That would mean that the "invasion" requiring armed self defence/martial law is for 60k civilians.

About 10 million Texans yearly travel over 50 miles, [source], does that mean Texas is invading most of the US annually?

(also, it's ridiculous that you don't have clear data and statistics on this exact question. Sometimes I love living in the EU)

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 21 points 5 months ago (3 children)

About 10 million Texans yearl travel over 50 miles, [source], does that mean Texas is invading most of the US annually?

50 miles won't even get you out of Texas in most of Texas. The rest of what you said is fine though.

[–] MacGuffin94@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

50 miles might not even get you from one county to another. Land mass size Texas is close to the whole of Europe.

[–] SamsonSeinfelder@feddit.de 18 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Land mass size Texas is close to the whole of Europe.

That is so wrong, you must be from the US.

Texas Landmass: 261,232 sq mi (676,587 km2)

Europe: 3,930,000 sq mi -> Europe is 15x the Size of Texas.

Size of European Countries

TLDR: Texas is the size of France + BeNeLux + Swiss. No Germany, No Spain, No Poland, No Italy, No Sweden, Norway or Finland...

Are the USA and Europe the Same Size? Although the United States and Europe are relatively similar in size, Europe is bigger than the United States. The United States is the fourth (or third) largest nation on the planet. Over 6.97% of the United State’s total area (3,796,742sq miles) is occupied by water. Europe is the second-smallest continent on the planet with an area of about 3,930,000sq miles. Europe occupies about 2% of the world’s surface area and 6.8% of the world’s total land area (57,510,000sq miles). Therefore, Europe has a bigger land area (3,910,680 sq miles) than the U.S. (3,531,905 sq miles).

If Texas size is "close to the whole of Europe" and Europe is bigger than the US, Texas must be bigger than the US. Crazy.

[–] DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You know what they say, "everything is bigger in Texas." Including how Texans view Texas.

[–] TheJims@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

You know what they say “Always Mess with Texas”

[–] TigrisMorte@kbin.social 2 points 5 months ago

TX only includes countries they've heard of when discussing Europe. ;)

[–] Brainsploosh@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

Texas is about the size of Ukraine or France, not the whole continent.

[–] Brainsploosh@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

True, but it might get you far enough that you aren't "home", and might be "invading" a neighbouring city.

But I agree, it's a weakly relevant datapoint, but the only other travel data I could find was that 250k texans fly for Thanksgiving, which was even less useful.

I'm honestly baffled, how do you set policy, have informed debate or even identify business opportunities with so little reliable data?

[–] joel_feila@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

You with what feels right.

[–] TigrisMorte@kbin.social 3 points 5 months ago

Given how most Texans drive their compensating trucks, 50 miles feels like 2500.

[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You didnt even touch on the fact that illegal immigrants break less laws and commit less violent crimes than naturalized citizens

[–] prole@sh.itjust.works 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

They also pay taxes while receiving none of the benefits afforded to citizens with a social security number.

[–] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Illegal immigrants are usually paid under the table, so no taxes.

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

deleted by creator

[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Depends on the industry, but id say most pay taxes these days.

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Pew published a really great article with historical information back in 2021: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/09/whats-happening-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-in-7-charts/ . Information for ‘22 and ‘23 can be found online to add to their charts.

[–] Brainsploosh@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Yeah, it's quite interesting, but it measures encounters without defining them, and it's very hard to get anything specifically useful for Texas.

The data does more to show that Texas are being whiny about it, than what their criterion for invasion is. I fully expect a ComiCon or similar to drive as much tourists as the whole illegal immigration thing, and that Texans travel in similar sized crowds for any holiday. But there aren't any clear data on either, pointing to dangerous ineptitude, and emotionally motivated (or "hysterical" as it was called in the olden days) governance.