Joy Reid says supporters of Texas’ right to self-defense sound like ‘old southerners’ opposing integration

She suggested Republican lawmakers were deliberately refusing to pass any federal legislation related to the border because talking about the problem instead of solving it was a better way to "animate their base."

"There is no better example of what MAGA World wants for the rest of America than Texas," Reid began, citing "draconian measures meant to secure the border" such as "setting up buoys with buzz saws, barring federal agents from assisting with border control, and passing legislation that makes it a state crime to cross the border."

She took particular aim at Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who recently said in an interview with Fox News that the Supreme Court should "go to hell" after it ruled that the Biden administration had the authority to remove the razor wire barriers set up by Texas' National Guard in the Rio Grande.

"He's a member of a body and party that could actually do something about immigration," Reid said, referring to Roy. "They just refuse to do it because many Republicans now see calling for zero tolerance on the border as the only way to animate their base."

Throughout the subsequent interview with MSNBC contributor Paola Ramos, who previously served as Director for Hispanic Media for Hillary Clinton, Reid continued to bash Republicans, and eventually went so far as to suggest that the "massive resistance" to the crisis at the southern border "sounds like the old southerners who said that we will resist integration by any means necessary." She referred to such sentiments as "Chip Roy language."

Speaking with Fox News on Tuesday, Roy remained steadfast in his belief that Texas had a duty to protect citizens.

"There is no exception to that," he said, "and if the Supreme Court wants to ignore that truth, which a slim majority did, Texas still had the duty, Texas leaders still have the duty, to defend their people."

"It's like if someone's breaking into your house, and the court says, 'Oh sorry, you can't defend yourself.' What do you tell the court? You tell the court to go to hell. You defend yourself and then figure it out later."

Roy responded to Reid's criticism by stating that "race baiting DC and NY liberals who enable human and drug trafficking can pound sand."

On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared an "invasion" over the flood of illegal immigrants coming across the southern border.

"The failure of the Biden administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV section 4 has triggered Article 1, section 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense," Abbott said. "For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, section 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself."