DEL RIO, Texas—The border crisis has reached a point where a growing chorus in Texas is pushing for the state to take matters into its own hands. Several state Republican lawmakers, bolstered by their U.S. congressional counterparts, argue that Texas needs to step up because the state is being invaded—orchestrated by Mexican cartels—and the Constitution allows for defense. The decision rests on the governor, who would have to declare the crisis an invasion to invoke the state constitutional powers. Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, in part: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion.” Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution states, in part: “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress … engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of …