It was in November 2006 that then-Sen. Joe Biden, in addressing a South Carolina rotary club, gave his full support for the Secure Fence Act, a bill that authorized 700 miles of double-layered fence on the southern border.

Other supporters for the bill included then-Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Biden called for getting tough with employers, even sending them to prison for hiring undocumented immigrants.

“If you knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, then you should be held accountable,” he said.

And during an earlier debate at Dartmouth College, Biden said he would not allow so-called sanctuary cities to ignore federal law.

Biden also voiced his concern over the amount of drugs pouring through the border.

“And let me tell you something, folks,” Biden said. “People are driving across that border with tons, tons, hear me, tons of everything from byproducts for methamphetamine to cocaine to heroin and it’s all coming up through corrupt Mexico.”

During the 2008 presidential election, Biden also said he was opposed to granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and that his immigration plan also increased funding for border patrol.

The border policies for Biden and the Democratic Party have definitely “evolved” in the last 15 years, but as the crisis continues to worsen, no single issue has tested the separation of powers and the responsibility and authority of states under the Constitution.

Believing that the federal government has abrogated its primary responsibility to protect its citizens, governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas are becoming more proactive.

The belief they hold, along with most Republican conservatives, is that the policies of the present Biden administration fail to have defined and controlled borders, thus encouraging a borderless nation-state.

Biden administration officials can expect an even larger mass migration event once Title 42, a 1944 public health law meant to prevent the spread of disease from person to person, officially ends on May 23. When COVID-19 began, it was reinstated by former President Donald Trump and barred migrants from seeking asylum.

With his state on the front lines of the illegal immigration surge, Abbott last week announced that Texas would place state troopers in riot gear to meet migrants at the border and bus those who wish straight to the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., where he said the Biden administration “will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border.”

DeSantis, who has also proposed sweeping legislation to fight illegal immigration and protect Floridians from the massive surge, applauded Abbott’s initiative.

“Joe Biden’s reckless border policies have allowed more than 2 million foreigners to enter our country illegally via the southern border,” DeSantis said. “Revoking Title 42 authority will supercharge the already skyrocketing flow of illegal aliens, increasing drug, human and sex trafficking. Biden is failing miserably to faithfully execute the law and is violating his oath of office.”

Earlier this year, DeSantis said he will send illegal immigrants who are “dumped” into the Sunshine State to sanctuary states like Biden’s home state of Delaware. He threatened to do the same last November, when he said dozens of migrant flights landed in Florida at the behest of the Biden administration.

According to the Center for Renewing America, a right-leaning nonprofit organization created by Russell Vought, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, the president serves as the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces but it is sometimes overlooked that each individual governor serves as the commander in chief of their respective state’s National Guard.

“As Gov. Abbott has done in Texas, every governor should activate his or her Guard units and send all available forces to the southern border,” CRA said … “And those seeking to abandon our constitutional framework to attain their destructive political ends through open borders would do well to understand that there are far more aggressive policy solutions … in the event of their continued lawlessness.

“They should step back from the abyss now and help restore order on our southern border before it’s too late.”

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.