Texas takes on Biden: Border battle update, key takeaways from the 'Take Our Border Back' convoy

Earlier this year, "Take Our Border Back," a coalition of freedom-loving Americans, formed a multi-state convoy that toured through the country, holding rallies along the journey to bring attention to the Biden administration's "wide open" border policies.

The group was relentlessly smeared by corporate media outlets who accused the concerned citizens of being "far right extremists," even claiming some participants may have ties to "militias." News outlets blasted the coalition for referring to themselves as "the army of God," warning others to stay away from the allegedly dangerous, so-called "Christian nationalists."

Despite the media's sensationalism and the group's concerns that agitators might infiltrate the convoy, the events were peaceful — exactly as its organizers had intended. After initially dominating the headlines, the convoy seemed to fade from the spotlight once it became too difficult for the media to spin the prayerful gatherings as anything menacing.

"The goal is simple: to shed light on the obvious dangers posed by wide open Southern borders," read a January press release from the convoy. "Uniting 'We the People' in our resolute stand to send a PEACEFUL, LAWFUL, and clear message to all city, state, and federal politicians & immigration enforcement officials who are enabling tens of thousands of illegal entrants, criminals and known terrorists from over 160 countries world-wide to cross daily into our country along our southern border."

The convoy started its travels at the end of January in Virginia Beach and wrapped up the tour with three separate rallies on February 3 in Yuma, Arizona, San Diego, California, and Quemadeo, Texas.

Noél Roberts, an organizer for the "Take Our Border Back" event in Yuma, told Blaze News on Thursday that the convoy "went great."

"It went really beyond our expectations, I think, in Texas, California, and Arizona," she said. "We had anticipated potential issues; none of them came to light in any way, shape, or form."

Roberts explained that the convoy's organizers received warnings about potential bad actors seeking to sabotage the events. Safety was a top concern for many Americans who wrote to the group expressing interest in joining up with the convoy on its tour through the southern states.

The Yuma rally pulled in attendees from 30 states and Canada, Roberts noted.

"It definitely brought massive awareness to many who didn't really know what was going on," she told Blaze News. "There are so many millions of people still in America that just do not know what's happening even though it has migrated up into the northern states."

The Glenn Beck Program's head writer and chief researcher, Jason Buttrill, joined the "Take Our Border Back" convoy to investigate the Biden administration's border crisis in the newly released Blaze Originals documentary, "Texas vs. The Feds: How the Elites Use the Border Crisis Against Us."

On the way to Texas, Buttrill spoke with the convoy's organizers and attendees to learn more about what the coalition hoped to accomplish by organizing the large, mobile gathering of freedom lovers.

Craig Hudgins, a convey participant, told Buttrill that the border crisis was an "originating issue" for the group that ultimately fueled many other problems, including jeopardizing election integrity and contributing to human and drug trafficking.

Robert Agee, one of the organizers, refuted the media's inflammatory reporting of the convoy, explaining that its events were more of a "prayer gathering."

"This has been so organic," Agee told Buttrill. "There's nothing more powerful than a group of people coming together in corporate prayer and calling upon the name of the Lord to fight the battle for us."

"I think that frightens them," he stated, referring to the media.

With 85% of migrants who reach the southern border successfully entering the country, Buttrill sought to determine whether anything was being done to secure the open border or if both sides of the political aisle were merely using the situation for their own gain.

"The crisis is being used by Republicans as a photo op, by the Democrats to expand their voting base, and by the media to slander their enemies," Buttrill concluded.

Many of the convoy's attendees who gathered at the Eagle Pass, Texas, rally came out to voice their support for Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has been in a heated head-to-head battle with the Biden administration ever since the governor moved to empower state law enforcement agents to defend its section of the border.

In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration for instructing federal agents to remove and destroy razor wire placed along the state's southern border to deter illegal immigrants from entering the country. Paxton argued that Texas' installation of concertina-wire barriers was an attempt to "fill the breach created by the federal government's indolence." The federal agents' removal of the wire "undermin[ed] Texas's efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration," the AG claimed in the lawsuit.

The Biden administration's Department of Justice declared that "federal law unambiguously grants Border Patrol agents the authority, without a warrant, to access private land within 25 miles of the international border." The battle has since reached the Supreme Court.

In December, Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law, which would allow state and local law enforcement to arrest, detain, prosecute, and even deport illegal migrants. The Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas the following month to block the new law from going into effect.

Texas contended that the law is necessary to address the border, which it claimed has been "abandoned" by the Biden administration. The federal government argued that the legislation "intrudes into a field that is occupied by the federal government" and "conflicts with various provisions of the [Immigration and Nationality Act]."

SB4, which was slated to take effect in early March, was temporarily halted by the Supreme Court until March 18. However, Texas state Sen. Bryan Hughes (R), the bill's coauthor, is optimistic that the court will side with the state.

In January, Abbott issued an emergency declaration to seize control of Shelby Park, a 47-acre municipal park in Eagle Pass, in an effort to curb illegal immigration. The governor's unprecedented move initially gained massive media attention, but reporting on the previously privatized land has since quieted.

Buttrill speculated that the park's seizure and the lawsuits may have been nothing more than a political stunt.

"If the Texas seizure of Shelby Park was TRULY meant as an actual deterrent, and not an elaborate photo op, then this would STILL be the biggest story in the country, and it's not even close," Buttrill stated. "But it's incredibly hard to make that case when border traffic, going all the way back to day one of the seizure, had already fallen by a staggering 95%. There's obviously more going on here, and we aren't being told the full story."

Buttrill explained that he does not expect much progress to come out of the legal feud between Texas and the federal government.

"The reason being is that I spoke to people that said the entire narrative is false," he remarked. "They said that everything currently being argued, regarding how the Texas National Guard is defying the Border Patrol, isn't actually what is going on. They said that the relationship between the two is exactly the same as it's been over the past decade. They work together, and continue to do so. I don't see much — if anything — changing, and I suspect this court battle will quietly slip away."

The Biden administration's open border policies have ignited concerns about the swaths of unvetted individuals entering the country.

Kate Monroe, a Marine Corps veteran, told Blaze News that she is concerned Americans do not realize that many of the immigrants crossing the southern border are not "friendly people" seeking asylum.

"There are military-aged men I've seen with my own eyes. That's the lion's share of who I have seen cross the border," stated Monroe, a California congressional candidate. "The average American does not understand the threat level, the terror level, and everything else associated with having an open border."

Border Vets, a coalition of military veterans committed to defending the country, and Monroe have visited California's border to seal gaps in the wall. She noted that the group has received warm welcomes from Border Patrol agents who are frustrated that the Biden administration has tied their hands.

"Most of them want to quit," she added. "They're very disheartened. They can't do their job."

Monroe believes Texas "may end up prevailing" in its legal battle with the federal government but noted that many other states will need to join the fight to ensure the entire border is secure once and for all.

"It's not just places like Texas and California that are facing this migrant crisis," she continued. "We've become a sanctuary country."

Buttrill shared his thoughts about the "Take Our Border Back" convoy after the multi-day, 1,000-mile trip concluded.

"It was encouraging to see the convoy, and their rallies, conducted with ZERO violence. I think most people with conservative values became nervous to make their voices heard after January 6. They feared bad actors, whether they come from inside or outside the government, derailing the entire thing. This proved it CAN still be accomplished, and that's very encouraging," he said.

Buttrill provided some advice for conservative Christian Americans regarding the corporate media's attempts to slander them.

"Christians that have strong political views should ignore the labels that are being thrown at them," he stated. "I don't think they should OWN THEM, like 'Christian Nationalist,' because the government has a history of using labels to justify overreach. Instead, they need to double down on the Constitution. Affirm your faith in God, but also affirm your belief in the U.S. Constitution. That shuts down any label the government or media will try and smear them with. And that's exactly what I saw from the attendees of the Take Our Border Back Convoy."

"Texas vs. The Feds: How the Elites Use the Border Crisis Against Us" drops today, March 14, for BlazeTV+ subscribers. Use promo code BORDERCRISIS for $30 off your subscription.

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