Who can regulate immigration? States or D.C.?

The Texas-Mexico Border

VA, WV, SC, MS, IA, TN, NE & FL… these GOP-led states have or are planning to send troops to the Texas border with Mexico. Why? Because Texas Governor Abbot has asked for their help. To learn about Governor Abbot’s Operation Lone Star program, visit the ⁠Texas Indigent Defense Commission⁠ site.

But can they do that? Isn’t regulating immigration the role and responsibility of the federal government? And what is Immigration Federalism?

A recent ⁠New York Times article⁠ included the following admonition: “But states cannot enforce federal immigration law — that is up to the federal government”.

But what if our federal government abdicates its responsibility in enforcing immigration laws, in protecting our borders? This is not a crazy question. As my guest, Prof. Deep Gulasekaram, explains, this is, in fact, the very claim that Republican governors of Arizona and Texas have made — that our federal government has abdicated its responsibility in matters of immigration.

Strangely, for an issue that is and has been so important to our nation’s history — hint: we are a nation of immigrants, immigration is not even mentioned in the Constitution. And as Prof. Gulasekaaram tells it, for the initial 100 years of our history, immigration…