HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 64

(By Delegates McGeehan, Adkins, Akers, Anderson, Barnhart, Bridges, Brooks, Burkhammer, Butler, Campbell, Cannon, Chiarelli, T. Clark, W. Clark, Cooper, Coop-Gonzalez, Criss, Crouse, Dean, DeVault, Dittman, Ellington, Espinosa, Fast, Fehrenbacher, Ferrell, Fluharty, Foggin, Forsht, Foster, Gearheart, Green, W. Hall, Hanshaw (Mr. Speaker), Heckert, Hillenbrand, Hite, Holstein, Hornbuckle, Howell, Hornby, Horst, Hott, Householder, Jeffries, Jennings, Kelly, Kimble, Kirby, Kump, Linville, Lucas, Mallow, Marple, Martin, Maynor, Mazzocchi, Moore, Nestor, Petitto, Phillips, C. Pritt, E. Pritt, Riley, Rohrbach, Ross, Shamblin, Sheedy, Smith, Statler, Steele, Stephens, Street, Summers, Thorne, Toney, Tully, Vance, Ward, Warner, Willis, Winzenreid, Worrell, and Zatezalo)

[Introduced February 1, 2024; referred to the Committee on Rules]

In the spirit of our great Republic binding the states of our shared country, we, the Legislature of West Virginia, in solemn assembly, do hereby avow support for our sister state, Texas, which faces a crisis of unprecedented scale at our nation's southern border.

Whereas, The State of Texas has been overwhelmed by an invasion of illegal migrants, including an incursion of millions of foreign military-age males and thousands of pounds of illicit drugs, all of which stand as a critical threat to the security, welfare, and sovereignty of its people and, by extension, the peace and order of these United States; and

Whereas, The Federal Government, entrusted with the sacred duty to guard the borders of our nation, has—through intentional acts of commission and omission—forsaken this cardinal responsibility, bringing about havoc at the country’s southern border and inviting mayhem throughout the interior of the Republic; and

Whereas, This dereliction of duty by the Federal Government has not been a matter of mere negligence but appears to be a calculated abdication, one that promotes the conditions of chaos, distrust, and social atomization in which tyranny thrives, good government sickens, and the very constitution of this Republic is threatened; and

Whereas, The Federal Government’s refusal to secure the southern border is not an isolated failure to defend the peace we enjoy, but a visible and flagrant instance of a veritable program of intimidation, whereby such basic goods as the rule of law and the security of the citizen are weaponized, reduced to "optional benefits" to be given or taken away according to the whims of the Federal Government; and

Whereas, Such a state of affairs cannot but degrade the relationship between the governed and their government into one of an undignified dependency on the part of the former, tyranny on the part of the latter, and suspicion between the two; and

Whereas, The physical borders of our Republic parallel the spiritual boundaries established by our law, which clearly symbolizes and in part forms the moral character of the American people by defining the limits of what constitutes their acceptable conduct, the Federal Government's pernicious relativization of both border and law illustrates their wider effort to destroy the peace, security, and independence that comes from belonging to a definite place, people, and pursuit of the common good, by treating the American people as amoral, amorphous, and open to any and every possible manipulation; and

Whereas, The wisdom we receive from the fathers and mothers of our Western tradition instructs us that laws ought to be ordinances of right reason, promulgated by those entrusted with the care of their community, aiding men and women in the great task of ordering their lives according to the Good, binding them together in a common pursuit of it, and therefore symbolizing the society to which they belong; and

Whereas, In the extraordinary event that the caretakers of our Republic abandon their obligations to uphold this tradition, to such an extent and to such a degree that their conduct constitutes the vicious destruction of the common good, the trust formerly accorded to them is fatally betrayed; and

Whereas, When such a hostile situation as we now face would entail the demolition of our Republic were it to continue, it becomes altogether essential to pursue concrete corrective measures, irrespective of legal opinions issued to the contrary—for a constitution compromised by malfeasance and interpreted in bad faith ceases to be a constitution at all; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the West Virginia Legislature, invoking such wisdom from our long Western tradition, stands in resolute support of the State of Texas in its sovereign right and duty to defend its borders and the well-being of its citizens; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we condemn in the strongest terms the actions and inactions of the Federal Government that have invited this crisis, not only as a failure of mere policy, but as a deliberate abrogation of its most basic obligations; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we call upon the Federal Government to immediately rectify its course, fulfill its paramount duties to secure the southern border, repel the ongoing invasion, and restore order to our Republic; and, be it

Further Resolved, That we summon our fellow states, to stand with Texas and demonstrate their solidarity with the supply of material, manpower, and the recognition that the strength of our Republic is contingent on the strength of its constituent parts—and that an affront to one is an affront to all; and be it

Further Resolved, That this resolution serve not merely as a testament of our support for Texas in this moment, but as a reaffirmation of our commitment to Justice in every moment, as the transcendent foundation and ultimate purpose of our Republic.