Two parties setting out their stalls ahead of the presidential election

Former US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that he appreciated Texas for standing up to the Joe Biden administration in the fierce immigration battle the federal government and the state of Texas are fighting in the run-up to the presidential election.

Due to a large number of immigrants crossing the US-Mexico border into Texas and other places to enter the United States illegally, Texas Governor Greg Abbott adopted a tough policy of building a border fence and even sending the National Guard to stop immigrants from entering the state, saying "Texas will continue to exercise its constitutional right to protect and defend our southern border".

However, such practices were at odds with the federal government, and the US Supreme Court granted an emergency request filed by the Biden administration in a 5-4 vote on Jan 22, giving the green light for federal agents to cut through or remove the razor wire installed by Texas along the US-Mexico border. In order to prevent the removal of the fence, Abbott mobilized the local National Guard forces to reinforce the fence, which led to an armed confrontation with federal law enforcement officers.

So far, 26 states, including Texas, in the US have publicly opposed Biden's immigration policy. At the Sunday rally, Trump said if he were president, he would use all the resources and powers of the office to defend the country from the terrible trespassing that is taking place. With the immigration conflict breaking out at the Texas border, Republic House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called for a "national divorce" between the "red states" controlled by Republicans and the "blue states" controlled by Democrats.

The escalating tensions underscore just how far apart Democrats and Republicans are on the immigration issue, the US Business Insider recently commented, citing The Washington Post as saying that the dispute has led to rumors of a "civil war" and a backlash against the federal government from conservative media and politicians.

The number of illegal immigrants in the US has continuously reached new highs in recent years, with data from US border authorities showing that the number of immigrants apprehended at the border has increased sixfold since 2018. It can be seen that the extreme attitude Trump took toward immigrants from certain countries four years ago remains the same and the immigration issue will remain a long-term pain point in US politics and society.