The judges and commissioners of four more Texas counties have declared an invasion at the southern border: Frio, Karnes, La Salle and Medina.
The judges of these counties also joined a new coalition led by newly elected Atascosa County Judge Weldon Cude in an effort to urge other counties to declare an invasion and defend the sovereignty of Texas.
Cude was among 87 judges who were newly elected in November. Prior to his election, Atascosa County was among the first to issue a disaster declaration in 2021 and declared an invasion in 2022.
When Cude came into office in January, he couldn’t understand why more counties hadn’t declared an invasion, he told The Center Square in an exclusive interview.
“Why wouldn’t you declare an invasion?” Cude asked. “If you have people from all over the world coming into your county by bus, plane, or smuggling people and drugs, why wouldn’t you declare an invasion?
“It’s important when you have millions coming across your southern border. What is it – if it isn’t an invasion?”
Prior to being elected county judge, Cude was elected to serve for six terms as county commissioner representing a majority Hispanic population in a rural area south of San Antonio that largely votes Republican.
At an orientation for judges in February, he met newly elected Kinney County Judge John Paul Schuster, who described the crisis his county was facing. He and Schuster then started reaching out to other judges, and now four more counties have declared an invasion.
They also formed a coalition with other judges in contiguous counties “to promote the common goal of safety, security, and well-being of their residents” and to “support each other to stop the ongoing crisis by all legal means.”
With the signing of a new resolution, the judges and commissioners of Frio, Karnes, La Salle and Medina declared an invasion.
The movement to declare an invasion was led by Kinney County, which first issued a disaster declaration April 21, 2021. Since then, over 50 counties have issued disaster declarations citing the border crisis.
