Originally Published: January 25, 2024 4:56 p.m.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has done nearly everything except what his supporters on the right are praising him for: defy the Supreme Court and the Biden administration.

Abbott is in the middle of a crescendoing frenzy over the border, in which he has used the language of secession to claim that his state can invoke the Constitution's Invasion Clause for self-protection while other GOP governors laud him, and activists praise him for supposedly defying a Supreme Court order.

The problem is that very little of this is real.

Texas invoked "invasion" in September in a court case, leading to a judge dismissing the claim as "breathtaking." Texas is not defying a Supreme Court order from earlier this week which restored the Department of Homeland Security's ability to cut razor wire to gain access to portions of the border in Texas.

Instead, Texas officials continue to work towards a goal that they have articulated for more than a year: creating a series of incidents which could lead to test cases before the Supreme Court overturning Arizona v. U.S., a 2012 decision upholding federal control of immigration and border enforcement.

"It comes down to trying to pick a fight with the federal government on immigration specifically so they can challenge Arizona v. United States," Chelsie Kramer, Texas state organizer for the American Immigration Council, told TPM.

Texas has already challenged the government over the issue in several ways, leading to three lawsuits. One has to do with anti-personnel buoys placed by Texas authorities along the Rio Grande; another to do with a law Texas passed creating a state illegal immigration charge while empowering state judges to deport people; a third has to do with concertina wire which the Texas National Guard placed along the border, blocking both migrants and federal Border Patrol agents.

After the Supreme Court voided a lower court injunction barring the Biden administration from removing the razor wire, partisans on the right, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) began egging Abbott on: disobey the order, they said.

Abbott did no such thing, but set in motion a process to make it appear as if he had. Texas law enforcement began laying down tons of additional razor wire, and Abbott himself issued a belligerent statement claiming that the federal government had "broken the compact between the United States and the states" while citing the Constitution's Invasion Clause as giving Texas the right to "defend and protect itself."

Morning Memo

David Kurtz brings you the essential political roundup each weekday morning. More bonbon than broccoli. Subscribe

The Backchannel [Free weekly edition]

One must-read from Josh Marshall delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe

The Weekender

Nicole LaFond and the team recap the week, bringing you the best parts of TPM in weekend mode. Subscribe