Because Abbott is arguing that the Constitution gives him the authority to do what he's doing, and the case is much less cut-and-dry than if he openly defied an injunction from the Supreme Court. Plus, arresting the sitting governor of a state isn't something that's entered into lightly, and federal authorities obviously want to have their ducks in a row before making such a move. Abbott is playing chicken with them and basically daring them to do something to see how much he can get away with.
Obviously I'd be all in favor of throwing that sack of shit to rot in a federal prison right now, but there's a lot more reluctance to pull the trigger on something like that at the levels of power that matter on decisions like that.
They don't have to arrest Abbot, they are arresting the U.S. citizen that is hindering their path of performing federal law. If they don't surrender (obstruction charges) or fight back it is an act of an armed militia fighting against the U.S. For which the charge is treason. That charge would be assigned to the person who ordered or gave permission to fight against the U.S. If Abbot says they are sound to do so it is his charge. If he says to stand down the charge is the individuals who acted against. Opposition would scatter. Life in prison or possible death penalty for doing your job is not something worth it. In fact I'm sure if someone refused to stop them and was fired they would be able to sue the state of Texas for wrongful termination/ordering them to perform an illegal act against the government.
There is no separating the citizen Abbott from the Governor of Texas Abbott, and the political realities are that this is a move which they are unwilling to take right now due to the increased animosity and tensions at play.
Like I said, I agree that he should be arrested immediately and thrown in prison; hell, I think there's a case for the federal government to take over management of the entire state, but I'm not blind to the fact that the political realities make that difficult and I can certainly see why the federal authorities aren't rushing to do so.
What I meant is Abbott isn't sitting there guarding the border. People that are making on average $14.14 an hour are stopping them. That would work out to less than 30k a year. They are living off benefits.
The average cost of living in Texas is 45k. I know the military does it's best to get recruits to blindly follow orders, but ignoring federal orders to follow state orders isn't in their normal repertoire. Many would likely choose to keep receiving benefits and pay which I'm sure is mostly coming from the federal government.
And should it come to the point where the Guard is nationalized and ordered to ignore Abbott's order, I agree that they would do so. Same with the case where Abbott would be arrested, I agree that these guardsmen are not going to attempt to prevent it.
None of that changes the fact that the political realities make the federal government actually ordering one of those options very dicey at present. While I'm in agreement that they absolutely should go ahead and do so, I can clearly see why they're reluctant at the moment, as this would no doubt further inflame animosity, which is part of why Abbott is doing this in the first place.
Because Abbott is arguing that the Constitution gives him the authority to do what he's doing, and the case is much less cut-and-dry than if he openly defied an injunction from the Supreme Court. Plus, arresting the sitting governor of a state isn't something that's entered into lightly, and federal authorities obviously want to have their ducks in a row before making such a move. Abbott is playing chicken with them and basically daring them to do something to see how much he can get away with.
Obviously I'd be all in favor of throwing that sack of shit to rot in a federal prison right now, but there's a lot more reluctance to pull the trigger on something like that at the levels of power that matter on decisions like that.
They don't have to arrest Abbot, they are arresting the U.S. citizen that is hindering their path of performing federal law. If they don't surrender (obstruction charges) or fight back it is an act of an armed militia fighting against the U.S. For which the charge is treason. That charge would be assigned to the person who ordered or gave permission to fight against the U.S. If Abbot says they are sound to do so it is his charge. If he says to stand down the charge is the individuals who acted against. Opposition would scatter. Life in prison or possible death penalty for doing your job is not something worth it. In fact I'm sure if someone refused to stop them and was fired they would be able to sue the state of Texas for wrongful termination/ordering them to perform an illegal act against the government.
There is no separating the citizen Abbott from the Governor of Texas Abbott, and the political realities are that this is a move which they are unwilling to take right now due to the increased animosity and tensions at play.
Like I said, I agree that he should be arrested immediately and thrown in prison; hell, I think there's a case for the federal government to take over management of the entire state, but I'm not blind to the fact that the political realities make that difficult and I can certainly see why the federal authorities aren't rushing to do so.
What I meant is Abbott isn't sitting there guarding the border. People that are making on average $14.14 an hour are stopping them. That would work out to less than 30k a year. They are living off benefits.
The average cost of living in Texas is 45k. I know the military does it's best to get recruits to blindly follow orders, but ignoring federal orders to follow state orders isn't in their normal repertoire. Many would likely choose to keep receiving benefits and pay which I'm sure is mostly coming from the federal government.
And should it come to the point where the Guard is nationalized and ordered to ignore Abbott's order, I agree that they would do so. Same with the case where Abbott would be arrested, I agree that these guardsmen are not going to attempt to prevent it.
None of that changes the fact that the political realities make the federal government actually ordering one of those options very dicey at present. While I'm in agreement that they absolutely should go ahead and do so, I can clearly see why they're reluctant at the moment, as this would no doubt further inflame animosity, which is part of why Abbott is doing this in the first place.