Border rancher praises Abbott for standing up to feds to protect Texans: 'We don't have a choice'

A Texas rancher is applauding Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for "holding the line" as the state continues to push back against the federal government over protecting its border. 

"Every state has the right to self-defense if there is an invasion or an imminent danger occurs to the citizens," rancher and Kinney County attorney Brent Smith told "Fox & Friends" Friday.

"Texas is holding the line. We have to. We don't have a choice at this point. This has gone way beyond a policy issue of immigration. This is about safety and security of Texans and the United States."

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The latest Supreme Court decision in Texas’ battle with the Biden White House has sparked a showdown over the Lone Star State’s constitutional authority to defend itself with the federal government seemingly getting in its way. 

On Monday, in a 5-4 decision on an emergency appeal, the Supreme Court ruled to temporarily overturn a lower court’s injunction that banned the federal government from cutting razor fencing Texas had installed along the border near Eagle Pass while litigation continues. 

Late Wednesday night, Abbott declared his constitutional authority to reserve the right of his state to self-defense against an invasion, adding that the executive branch had broken its constitutional pact with the states by failing to enforce federal immigration laws. 

 "Texas has a right as a state to stop criminals from coming into our state. There's really only one person in America not doing their job, and that's the president of the United States," he told "America's Newsroom" Thursday.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over more than 2,000 migrants at a field processing center on December 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. A surge as many as 12,000 immigrants per day crossing the U.S. southern border has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities in recent weeks. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (John Moore/Getty Images)

Smith argued Abbott is "not in defiance" of the federal government and is upholding his oath as governor.

"I believe he has all the authority he needs to secure the state and, more importantly, the safety and security of his citizens," he said. 

"Every day there's enough people that die from fentanyl, that a 747 goes down every day. Could you imagine in America [if] a 747 airplane crashed every single day? There'd be hearings, there'd be congressional oversight, you know, all kinds of things. But today, no one's blinking an eye, or we're going to wait until 200,000 die or 300,000 before we do something?" 

EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 26: Texas National Guard soldiers wait nearby the boat ramp where law enforcement enter the Rio Grande at Shelby Park on January 26, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas National Guard to defy a Supreme Court ruling allowing federal Border Patrol agents complete access into the area which has seen high numbers of illegal crossings. (Photo by Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)

A growing number of Republican governors are throwing their support behind Texas as the high court's ruling sends the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 7. 

Legal experts told Fox News Digital Texas is well within its constitutional rights and within the Supreme Court’s order to keep building the razor-wire fence even if the feds continue to cut it before the appeals court addresses the matter.

"So what does this come to?" Smith asked. "Are we in the death pact, where we don't have a choice but to be invaded and lose our state? Surely not. That's not what the founders would have ever wanted, or ever agreed to, nor would the states."

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

Elizabeth Heckman is a digital production assistant with Fox News.