"It makes sense for Abbott and today’s reactionary Right to adopt these neo-confederate arguments. In a way, they are just explicitly emphasizing the tradition in which their political project stands, as they are once again defying the federal government and deploying 'states’ rights' in order to justify inhumane brutality in service of upholding white nationalist domination."
"The fact that this argument was resoundingly defeated – politically and on the battlefield – does not matter to them: The Republican Party and the extremist Right are all in. …
“'The border' plays an enormously important role in the collective rightwing imaginary, and propagating the idea of a foreign 'invasion' in the form of migrants is a central part of how the Right mobilizes its supporters."