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Why Are People Saying 'I Stand With Texas' On Social Media? The Texas Border Crisis And Its Memes Explained
The Supreme Court sided with federal agents to remove razor wire put in place by Texas along the Rio Grande, causing a major standoff between Republican governors with the U.S. federal government over immigration on the Texas border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden are still locked in a bitter dispute over the border, as ABC News explains the current situation of the 2024 Texas Border Crisis.
Amid the political and humanitarian crisis, Abbott's supporters started to share "I Stand With Texas" messages on social media, using memes, parody videos, comedy skits and other memetic formats as a show of protest. How did this movement begin and what does it mean?
Here's everything you need to know about the "I Stand With Texas" catchphrase and other memes related to the Texas Border Crisis.
How Did The Texas Border Crisis Become A Trending Topic?
Tension between Abbott and the Biden Administration escalated after the Supreme Court ordered Texas to allow federal border agents access to the state’s border with Mexico where state officials have deployed miles of concertina wire (razor wire).
A coalition of 25 Republican governors released a joint statement on January 25th, 2024, in support of Abbott’s efforts to exercise what he declares is Texas’ “constitutional right to self-defense.” Texas' governor posted a video on his X account that same day (shown below), saying, "The Biden Administration has truly abdicated its responsibility to enforce the immigration laws on the books."
The Biden Administration has truly abdicated its responsibility to enforce the immigration laws on the books. Texas has a constitutional right to defend and protect itself. We will continue to hold the line. pic.twitter.com/LFrTq2MoVY
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 25, 2024
Why Are People Saying 'I Stand With Texas' On Social Media?
The Texas border crisis became a trending topic across multiple platforms in late January 2024 as Abbott's sympathizers started to use the catchphrase "I Stand With Texas" to share content in support of maintaining the Governor's decisions to keep the razor wire and floating buoys at the border. One of the earliest "viral posts" using the catchphrase was posted on January 26th, 2024, X[6] user @TONYxTWO uploaded a video of a man riding a horse while holding the United States flag and the phrase "We Stand With Texas" above. (seen below)
I stand with Texas 🇺🇸Do you? pic.twitter.com/24uW4D0uF2
— TONY™ (@TONYxTWO) January 26, 2024
How Are People Referencing Texas Border Crisis In Memes?
Besides the "I Stand With Texas" catchphrase, the hashtags #NationalDivorce and #Texit are some of the main memetic sources sharing content like the idea of Texas starting a civil war to defend the border. For instance, on January 22nd, 2024, X user @DabneyRL uploaded an image of the Texas state flag (shown below, top) paired with the text "Texit Now" written inside.
On January 26th, X user @1864Memes uploaded a Kill La Kill cosplay as an image macro suggesting the Biden Administration was to start a war in Texas (shown below, bottom).
TikTokers have also engaged in the "I Stand With Texas" catchphrase for comedy skits content, like @kandis_espo, who posted a video using the "I Don't Care About Homeless People" viral sound paired with overlay texts commenting on the border crisis (shown below, left). On January 26th, 2024, TikTok user @truthersanonymous posted a video of a group of protesters paired with the caption "heading to Texas to stop the Biden Border Invasion."
@kandis_espo I stand with Texas 🇺🇸 (i dont remember the original creater but i thought this was great😂)
@truthersanonymous Stand with Texas! Pay close attention to which Governors refuse to stand against Bidens border invasion! FAFO #standwithtexas #proud #americafirst #america #1776 #texas #military #wethepeople ♬ Welcome to My House – Nu Breed & Jesse Howard
For the full history of the 2024 Texas Border Crisis, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
