When Republicans gained control of the House last November, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California), now the House speaker, was vocal about the party's plans to improve the border. But almost half a year into Republican control of the House, progress has been slow in coming.
Monday on American Family Radio, Lt. Col. Allen West (USA-Ret.), who served a term in the House serving Florida's 22nd District, says states would be backed by the U.S. Constitution if they choose to act themselves.
"What is happening along the border … is not a policy issue – this is a constitutional issue. Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, known as a guarantee clause, clearly states that it is the responsibility and duty of the federal government to guarantee that every state to protect them from invasion," West told show host Jenna Ellis. "Five, six, seven million people coming across the border. These are not migrants – this is illegal immigration, this is an invasion, 1.7 million. We don't even know who they are or where they are from."
Not all who enter at the southern border are from nearby countries and seeking a better life. American Family News reported earlier this month about rising numbers of encounters between U.S. border agents and Chinese nationals. And invasion isn't always an overt process with tanks and armed troops.
West says border states like Texas and Arizona would be fully justified in bringing articles of impeachment against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
How states can act
In the meantime, West (pictured) interprets the Constitution to say states can act on their own. He notes that Article I, Section 10 says no state shall "keep troops or ships of war in time of peace" or "engage in war unless actually invaded or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay."
"Texas is the number-one state in the country for human and sex trafficking. Dallas and Houston are the top two cities in the country for sex trafficking, yet no one at the federal government level [or] the state level is doing anything about it. So, you know, it comes down to it at the local level, at the counties," West said. "What can we do to protect people and their life, their living, their property? And what should the House of Representatives be doing? They should bring up articles of impeachment."
He acknowledges that a House impeachment effort would have little bite without support in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
"Now, does it go to trial in the Senate? Maybe it does not, but at least they are standing up on the side of the Constitution, which last time I checked as a member of Congress, you took an oath to support and defend," West said.
West argued that the failures of the Biden administration are a complete violation of the law.
"There's nothing humanitarian about mass rapings of young girls and women; all the Americans who are dying because of the fentanyl poisoning; the murders and pretty heinous murders by beheadings that these organizations known as the cartels are doing along our border, not just on the south side, but on our side of the border as well," West emphasized.
More migrants on the move
Around 3,000 migrants set out last week on what was described as a mass protest procession through southern Mexico to demand the end of detention centers like the one that caught fire last month, killing 40 migrants.
The migrants, who started from the city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, say their aim is to reach Mexico City to demand changes in the way migrants are treated.
"It could well have been any of us," Salvadoran migrant Miriam Argueta said of those killed in the fire. "In fact, a lot of our countrymen died. The only thing we are asking for is justice, and to be treated like anyone else."
But in the past many participants in such processions have continued to the U.S. border, which is almost always their goal. The migrants are mainly from Central America, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.
A huge rally is planned for the Texas State Capitol this Saturday to bring awareness to the situation at the border. Organizers say they want to encourage action from state officials.
While there's no response from the states or federal government, Christians can still help on an individual level.
"I would also say to the people … in Texas, and especially the Christian community, look and see what you can do to go down and help out in some of these local border counties because they're overrun," West offered.
"Look at Genesis. Even God understood the borders of Israel, and he laid out those borders. So, he understands national sovereignty. 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' David wrote that in Psalm 33, and so we recognize the modern nation state and that sovereignty has to be protected."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
