Republican Arizona Att. Gen. Mark Brnovich gave an opinion recently calling the problem at the border an “invasion,” saying that by calling it as such makes the state be allowed to use additional action to defend itself from the “invasion.”
“The federal government’s failure to secure the border and protect Arizona from invasion is unprecedented and dangerous,” Brnovich stated. “The Founders foresaw that the States would need to protect themselves from invasion and made it clear in the Constitution that States have the sovereign power to protect themselves in their own territory.”
“The lawlessness and violence at the border caused by gangs and transnational cartels satisfies the meaning of an ‘invasion’ in the United States Constitution, and therefore Arizona has the power to defend itself from the invasion under the Governor’s authority as Commander-in-Chief,” the statement continued.
“An actual invasion allows the State to engage in protective actions within its own territory near or at its border,” the statement said.
GOP members have referred to Article one Section ten of the Constitution to argue that “a State can protect itself when it has been ‘actually invaded, or in imminent Danger that will not admit a delay,’ and the State doesn’t need to have the approval of Congress to do so.”
The opinion talks about founder James Madison, who “cited the state of Virginia using its military to stop smugglers as an example of a good exercise of the invasion power.” It also claims that under the Import-Export Clause, the states have the right to inspect their goods at the ports of entry, “and is the historical police power that is saved for the States.”
Brnovich said the “lawlessness and on-the-ground violence at Arizona’s border that is caused by gangs and cartels is well-documented, persistent, and extensive,” and “can satisfy the definition of ‘actually invaded’ and ‘invasion’ under the United States Constitution.”
It’s now up to Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to “make a final decision” about using defensive force, according to the opinion.
Border Protection and U.S. Customs ended 2021 with over two million migrant encounters, according to the data. GOP member Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls issued a local emergency in Dec. due to “unprecedented amounts of migrants coming into the city … causing a border and humanitarian crisis.”
Nicholls cited data showing a 2,647 percent increase in the amount of migrant encounters since October 1st.