Texas won a big victory in the United States Court of Appeals in the long struggle over floating buoy barriers in the Rio Grande River to help block unlawful migration. In United States v. Abbott, the court ruled 11-7 in an en banc decision against the Biden Administration over the barrier. It is an interesting decision that included a sharp disagreement over the claim that the large numbers of migrants across the border constitute an “invasion” under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 (“[n]o state shall, without the Consent of Congress, . . . engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay”).
In its challenge, the Biden Administration claimed the placement of the buoys violated the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The appellate panel and trial court previously ruled in favor of the federal government. However, both were overturned.
The majority found that the specific stretch of the Rio Grande that was chosen by the state is not covered by the Rivers and Harbors Act because it is not “navigable.” The definition of navigable waters has long been a matter of dispute in the courts.
Yet, it was the invasion issue that had many of us watching for this decision. I have previously expressed doubts over this theory. I agree with Texas on its criticism of the Biden Administration’s disastrous handling of the border. The impact on Texas is devastating. However, I do not believe that it qualifies as an invasion under Article I.
The opinions deal with this issue in dicta rather than the central holding. Some judges felt that the court should have addressed the issue.
What is interesting is the concurring opinion of Judge James Ho that the meaning of “invasion” is a “political question.” As such, he believes that courts must defer to the Texas governor’s assertion that there is an invasion, at least so long as the governor is acting in “good faith.”
In his concurring opinion, Judge Andrew Oldham maintains that Ho is wrong about the necessity of the court in taking up the issue.
In her dissenting opinion, Judge Dana Douglas objects that this approach would have sweeping and destabilizing effects and “would enable Governor Abbott to engage in acts of war in perpetuity.”
Here are the opinions: United States v. Abbott
“Looks like the Sunday shows ignored the Doug Emhoff story. After wall-to-wall coverage of any Trump scandal, real or imaginary.”
Because they are the Fake News.
The “news” has become pure propaganda for Democrats.
The “news” has now memory-holed Trump’s assassination attempt as if it never happened.
The “government” has no interest in “investigating” the assassination. Crickets.
They are now calling Trump a “coward” who is afraid to debate Cackling Kamala.
Democrat voters do not know ANYTHING but the lies they are being told by Democrat fake media.
What a frightening time as we move toward the election.
The powers-that-be will kill Trump and jail his supporters before they allow him to take power from them.
This is where we are at.
Pray.
Anonymous: what is the SOURCE for the “Doug Emhoff story”? it is valid? MAGA media reports on anything perceived to be adverse to Democrats and VP Harris and lies, lies, lies all of the time because they are not journalists. Mainstream media fact-check stories before publishing them, especially if the information could hurt innocent people, like the nanny, Emhoff’s e-wife and his kids. You apparently not only believe the story is true, all without citing any reliable source, but go on to attack Democrats and mainstream media for not engaging in the tactics that MAGA media does. Emhoff is not even a candidate for office in the first place, so what would a dalliance years ago have to do with the issues before voters? This post proves that the gullible ones who listen and and believe lies, all without any evidence, are MAGAs like you.
Jonathan may not believe that Texas is being invaded, but what about this bit from article I, which follows “actually invaded”: “or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.” Seems to me that Texas (and the rest of us) are definitely in “imminent Danger” from the 8 million+ illegal aliens who have crossed our border.
Check out the thread about this with anonymous (me) and oldmandromkansas a couple of pages back.
The proviso relates only to war, meaning that “actually invaded” and “imminent Danger” must be read in the context of engaging in war. The cartel is an illegal commercial enterprise, not a war. Neither is human trafficking/immigration.
Trump says that “. . . Kamala Harris as a “DEI hire”–which she clearly is not.”
Except for the fact that the man who “hired” her (JB) said publicly that she was a DEI hire.
The Left’s attempt to divorce KH from DEI doesn’t even make sense.
The Left loves DEI. It champions DEI. It worships DEI. Why doesn’t it want KH to wear that tag proudly?
Could this be yet another phony denial, part of the masquerade to “rebrand” KH — i.e., a lie driven by the desire for power?
Sam
Willie Brown reflected Kamala as a DIK hire, long before being a DEI hire.
Very witty
If the Democrats win the presidency in November, it should be a serious consideration for the Republic of Texas to begin the process of seceding from the union — I believe it is the only ‘state’ that in its statehood admission documents was afforded the opportunity to do so. I’m sure many of Prof. Turley’s readership know the details of how Texas could accomplish this, and it isn’t easy to do I’m sure – But if ‘don’t mess with Texas’ has any real meaning, this could be the last straw before Texas says ‘this statehood experiment worked for a while, but things have changed — goodbye.’
The ‘timing’ of this prisoner swap is glaringly obvious. The US has been trying to get Evan the WSJ journalist freed since the day he was arrested. The work was going on in the background, which is how these things work.
Fast forward to the Democrat party meltdown over whether Joe is going to campaign for another term (during July 2024 after the late June debate):
Here we are on August 1st, a month has gone by, just one month, and Vice President what’s her role in the Biden administration again?…….VP Harris has been thrust out front as the solution for the Democrat problem – who will be the nominee and be on the voting ballot for Nov. 5th……
And lo’ and behold, Harris was ‘instrumental’ in getting this prisoner swap accomplished — a real international relations coup with the help of VP Harris —-
Incredible. How many educated citizens in America believe this PR stunt.
Dear Anonymous: and, you probably believe JD Vance’s claim that the prisoners were released because of Trump. What was the “PR stunt”? To get this to happen, Biden relied on the trust, respect and relationships he developed over the years with our allies, especially Germany and Slovenia. The German Chancellor said he did it BECAUSE of Joe Biden. Trump, doing his usual lying and bloviating, boasted that if he won in November, Putin would just let the hostages go. Then, tell us, Anonymous, why Putin didn’t release the 2 hostages that were taken when Trump was in office.
Russia doesn’t even own Ukraine, but this talk of escalation implies that they do. It’s absurd.
Eastern Ukraine is inhabited by a large population of people that identify as Russian.
Trump has Abbott to thank for making the border a national issue instead of the local issue that’s always existed.
Or, what made it a national issue was that 10mil illegals were encouraged by the Biden admin to enter over a 3yr time period
At the Black Journalist’s meeting Trump said it was 50 or 70 million. Someone’s lying.
When you have an open border, its pretty hard to get an accurate number
It would be lovely to make this a local issue, however, the border between Texas and Mexico is 1,250 miles long. Little communities such as Del Rio, Eagle Pass, etc. will see a migrant caravan crossing with numbers equal to the size of the community. Such towns are an oasis in an inhospitable, harsh, indescribably hot part of the state. It is a hundred fifty miles to San Angelo, San Antonio or Fort Stockton. The drive to Fort Stockton in the summer is the devils playground and it is vast and inhabitable to human life.
Border crossing has been going on since the beginning of the border. However, there used to be a border, rules and consequences that kept the numbers were somewhat manageable. Now that there’s an open invite and the backing from the cartel, these numbers are untenable and unsustainable.
It is a national, humanitarian crisis. Did you notice how fast the rich people kicked out the single plane load of migrants from Martha’s Vineyard? They were gone in a flash.
Every person in the world is an American-in-waiting.
Waiting for their “free stuff” and “free status” from the American taxpayer.
The invasion is “soft” and assisted by inimical “soft” traitors.
Fooled you, huh?
Illegals undocumented have been in the USA for generations. They hide. Their children are born in the USA and time goes by.
What’s new is millions all at once. Obviously planned. They’ve hidden and quietly hated you for generations.
DEPORTATION NATION!
The mass foreign invasion started on January 1, 1863.
The Naturalization Act of 1802 was in full force and effect and a standing foreign army was ensconced on sacred American soil.
One of the things that has shocked democrats is that illegal immigration is not politically popular among the children and grand children of illegal immigrants.
Quit kidding yourself. No one wants to come here anymore. The only people they can get are 3rd world and illegal after Harris did a money run to Guatemala and Venezuela to buy some migrants.
So lets change the immigration system.
Lets say – ANYONE can come here – but no FREE STUFF.
This is the land of opportunity not the land of free things.
We can restrict immigration to those with a clean record – no crime, no terrorists.
Then we require that all immigrants must be sponsored.
Any citizen, company, civic group, can sponsor immigrants.
They can pick whatever immigrants from where ever they wish to sponsor – so long as they are not criminals or terrorists.
But a sponsor is responsible for the immigrants they sponsor. They must help them find a job, a place to live, etc.
If the immigrant can not do so themselves – the Sponsor is obligated to pay.
Same with healthcare, pretty much everything else.
Governments role is limited to vetting candidates for criminal records.
The people in the country individually choose who they wish to allow into the US.
In other words, an expanded version of legal immigration. I’m in favor of it with the addition of throttling to prevent housing market, health care system etc from getting overwhelmed.
Do you want your grandkids to live in a country as crowded as China, India? Numerical limits (generous at that: 1,000,000/year) are essential to an orderly immigration process. Do you want immigrants to assimilate, or cluster into enclaves (as in European big cities)? That’s exactly what will happen.
A sponsorship system without numerical limits would rapidly turn into “sell a sponsorship” racket, where U.S. adults would pad their wealth by selling sponsorships to the highest bidder. Is that desirable? As soon as these paying immigrants got in their 5 years, they’ll join the party as sponsorship sellers. Then, enclaves.
You might want to think more about the big picture, as it seems you’ve been seduced by the Democrats in only thinking about immigration at the INDIVIDUAL level. Sponsorship when combined with numerical limits, and a non-bribery policy would be a good thing. Sponsorship (vouching for a legal immigrant’s application without monetization or undue influence) could become one component of a merit-based system, which looks at values- compatibility and skills contribution.
That’s a terrible idea. I am in favor of increasing the annual quotas (if necessary), improving the hearing/asylum process, and some type of guest worker program but what you’re suggesting would be worse than what we have now. No “free stuff”, how could that work? They’re going tor receive free healthcare because they can’t be turned away from hospital ERs. They’ll receive free education for their children. Unless we want them living on the street, they’ll need some type of govt paid shelter and food. If you want them to get jobs, they’ll need a smart phone for that. Are we going to give them drivers licenses? What about auto insurance? Most have no immunization, most have little to no education and don’t speak English, most are even illiterate in their own languages. Most have few to no job skills other than manual labor and with no language skills, aren’t likely to improve on this very much. There is a limit to how many lawn care workers, maids, and roofers we can employ in this country
Any “citizen, company, civic group” can sponsor…what! What you’ll have, or already have, is a Soros open border non-profit that will simply sponsor millions more to come over. In most cases, we really have no idea whether someone has a criminal record. As far a terrorist goes, how are we going to figure that out? Based upon the all the terrorist acts they’ve already committed? We aren’t going to be able to keep people out based upon national origin, so any country could send plane loads of their worst right over to us, legally. The countries they are coming from don’t keep accurate records, we really have no idea who they are, because their identity documents could say anything. We’re going to rely on a Venezuelan birth certificate in name of Juan Garcia? What if the sponsor suddenly is unable to pay? Do we immediately deport the people he sponsored? Do we jail the sponsor? Or do we just shrug our shoulders and move on?
The courts will say it is unconstitutional to NOT give illegals everything they need to exist in this country. No food stamps, courts say no. No rental assistance, courts say no. No medicare or Medicaid, courts say no. No free phones, courts say no.
You need to close the border hard for the next ten years and deport any illegal that commits ANOTHER crime while here.
Actually I think this illegal incursion en masse does, in fact, meet the definition of “invasion.” And you have to wonder, how do people so seemingly well-educated get such things so incredibly wrong?
Hengist and Horsa and their tribes were invited to Britain. How did that turn out.
“Well-educated” no longer means what it meant 50 years ago. Universities now indoctrinate.
Diplomas are receipts; not evidence ok knowledge.
If you have not figured it out yet, the powers that be want WAR. WAR gives them power and unlimited wealth. Politicians are underlinings serving their masters.
Can you say Massive conflict of interest !
Lauren Merchan’s business almost doubled since last year as a result of her Father taking the Trump Bragg case.
This is a text book violation fo the NY conflict of interest judicial code of conduct.
https://www.declassified.live/p/judge-merchans-daughter-raked-in
Congratulations again to Professor Turley for maintaining the worst garbage site on the web with the dumbest and most-dishonest collection of hired trolls.
Kudos to you, too, Darren (aka “Tom” aka Anonymous aka etc.) because Turley could never pull off such a remarkably toxic fraud without your assistance.
Kudos to you, too, Darren (aka “Tom” aka Anonymous aka etc.) ….
So I have been bumped off for Tom? Peter Shill, how could you do this to me, after all we have been through?
Black Jobs
What exactly does that mean to Dennis?
Does it mean the 83% of jobs held by black people that pay less than $30k/yr???
Please Dennis, we really want to know what it means to you.
You claim it is racist. What does it mean, Dennis?
Maybe to Dennis it means the black person bequeathed to him by his mother, who tends his “vineyard”. The black man that his mother told him to “never let go”
Is that it, Dennis???
‘It’s Not Fair! It’s Not Fair!’
Female boxer quits fight after 46 seconds in shocking Olympic scene.
https://www.thefp.com/p/women-boxing-olympics
Next we will expect ballerinas to pick up male ballet dancers and twirl around the stage
If this transition business is legit why aren’t female to male transitioners winning baskets of medals in male dominated sports?
I guess the insanity will continue until the women say no show if men are allowed to compete with them. Then the money grubbers profiting from these disgraceful exhibitions will stop with the pretending. No show, no profit. Just walk away.
This is simple. Either bar men from women’s sports or eliminate women’s sports.
If women are to be expected to compete with people with a Y chromasome, then there is no reason to have separate man’s and women’s sports.
I know that math is really hard for left wing nuts. But it does not matter if the differences between the sexes are small at the median – though they are not, If you have two overlapping bell curves with a 1% shift at the median
You will still have a situation where the 1 in 100 male can physically obliterate the 1 in 10,000 female. The differences in the tails of the bell curve are far far larger than at the media. That is NOT a male/female thing, it is just a bell curve thing. It is why there are far more great black athletes in many sports.
Always remember when there is a claim that the differences between two distinct groups are small on average, that those differences will become enormous at the extremes.
And remember and important principle of economics – which is that it is what happens at the margins that matters.
The pareto principle says approximartely that 20% of people in most every field of endeavor do 80% of the work – recursively.
That means of the 80% that do 20% of the work – 20% of them do 80% of the w0%.
It also means that of the 20% who do 80% of the work – 20% of them do 80% of the 80%
and so on.
The important things in the world happen out in the margins, the tails.
“would enable Governor Abbott to engage in acts of war in perpetuity.” No, only until the invasion ceases.
Dennis and Gigi. Here is breaking points analysis of the NABJ event
First we have all been talking about the Kamaqla’s not Black part of this.
Everyone here has entirely Missed what Sagar points out is that Kamala is just another of many Indian heritage politicians that has run away from the fact that she is indian and that pisses off Indians.
I think that both Sagar and Crystal had points.
I agree with Crystal that Harris’s response was better than addressing race directly – the “it does not matter, and why does it matter to Trump” response was good. At the same time her Measure what we have done is a huge mistake.
As Crystal also noted – the strongest attack on Kamala is her total lack of competence not her in-authenticity – though BOTH are problems.
At the same time I agree with Sagar – This worked for Trump in 2016 and it will work for him on 2024.
Harris is NOT the same as Clinton – Harris has as much if not more baggage, but it is somewhat different baggage.
I also think Trump missed a really strong response when asked if Kamala was a DEI hire – “Joe Biden said she was”.
I wondered why Trump focused on the Indian thing. For people who are not minorities it does not matter if Kamala is Indian or Black.
And to the extent it does – Indians are perceived of as competent over achievers.
But to minorities – and especially Asians – Kamala has turned her back on them.
Regardless, one of the points that Sagar makes repeatedly is that people underestimate the effectiveness of Trump’s jabs.
The supposedly controversial statement that he makes drive the left frothing mad. But they help rather than hurt him with most voters.
https://youtu.be/iyhuJ58xkyI
“I also think Trump missed a really strong response when asked if Kamala was a DEI hire – “Joe Biden said she was”.”
I was screaming it at the TV LOL
“The supposedly controversial statement that he makes drive the left frothing mad. But they help rather than hurt him with most voters.”
I know. I’ve been thinking this very thing. These idiots like Svelaz and Gigi have deluded themselves into thinking that Biden won because people just couldn’t handle Trump’s mouth. They think everyone is as “appalled” as they are. They are desparate.
Biden won because of COVID. Period. Without covid, we would be wrapping up Trump’s second term. You either know that or you are deluded.
Americans will not vote aginst their best interest twice in a row. They just won’t. Carter. Bush.
Thats why there is a TEN POINT SWING since 2020. Nothing is going to change that. Certainly not the faux outrage of idiots who can’t define the term “black jobs”.
Good point.
DDC: Biden won because most Americans see through the “tough guy, self-made boy-wonder billionaire” phony image and see what Trump really is: a sociopathic liar who can’t even successfully manage the $400 million + inheritance he got from his father without bankrupting several businesses, and who has to keep borrowing money to keep creditors at bay. They see someone who took a successful economy and turned it into the worst recession since the Great Depression, due to: mishandling of COVID, lying about COVID, stupid tariffs that resulted in shortages of computer chips and consumer goods, alienation of our allies, and failure to get any major legislation passed, other than massive tax breaks that mostly benefitted the top 1%, even though he had both houses of Congress for 2 years. They see a pathetic narcissist who lacked the moral fiber to graciously accept defeat, who refused to attend the winner’s inauguration, and who started an insurrection because his ego couldn’t handle the fact that he failed. The idiot who couldn’t define “black jobs” was Trump–someone whose fragile ego drove him to sexually assault a woman because she teased him about trying on lingerie, who brags about grabbing womens’ privates, who is on his 3rd marriage, who is a convicted criminal, an adjudicated fraudster, assaulter and defamer of a woman, someone who calls brown people “murderers, rapists, vermin and animals”, who put children in cages and who is scared to death of paying for his crimes by going to prison. Most Americans who voted in 2016 and 2020 did NOT vote for Trump, and, according to the most-recent polls, won’t vote for him in 2024.
Americans don’t want Project 2025, we don’t want absolute power placed in the hands of an egotistical sociopath who has demonstrated his incompetence, inability to bring people together, who endlessly brags about nonexistent accomplishments, who calls people petty names, who lies about Republicans’ plan to eliminate IVF and abortion, who wants to set up concentration camps and mass deportations, all to pander to xenophobia and racism, and who is an international joke. Prominent economists have warned that Trump’s stupid tariffs will drive inflation. His tax cuts will have to be paid for somehow, and in March on Squakbox, Trump said he would favor cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Republicans’ current budget proposal includes such cuts. Project 2025 includes cuts to SNAP benefits and school lunches for indigent children, elimination of the Department of Education and NOAA (to make climate change go away), rolling back of environmental protections (puchased for a $1 billion campaign donation), and firing of mid-level civil servants. He wants to weaponize the FBI and DOJ, and promises to “get retribution”–for what–the fact that Americans voted him out of office? Americans don’t want any of this. We surely don’t want the recession that would result from the tariffs.
YOU, my friend, are the one who is deluded. The Biden economy is thriving, unemployment is low, inflation is coming down and things are back on track. “We won’t go back”–Kamala Harris.
“. . . unemployment is low . . .”
Really?
Is that why it’s been going up over the last four months? And is that why Harris blamed Trump for July’s dismal unemployment? (I can usually untangle twisted reasoning — but not that one.)