The men of the Alamo famously fought to the last man, but at least they went down as heroes in the pages of American folklore. Now, President Joe Biden finds himself in even more dire straits down at the Texas border. No matter what he does, everyone’s going to hate him.

The situation at the Southern border is currently gearing up to be the biggest federal-state standoff in decades. In response to the Biden administration’s failure to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken matters into his own hands, putting up barbed wire along the Rio Grande to deter illegal crossings. Unfortunately, he hasn’t received the support he had hoped for from the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the Feds could take down the barbed wire for the time being until the justices decide on the overall merit of the case. Yet Abbott has pledged to hold the line at the border despite the ruling.

This isn’t the constitutional crisis that many on the left are screaming about. Texas is still within its right to place barriers, even if the feds come and take them right down. It could certainly escalate if the Biden administration insists on opening up the Texas border, but that’s all currently in Biden’s hands. More than a legal crisis, what this really is is a political crisis for a president who is deeply unpopular over his handling of the border but has backed himself into a corner during an election year. He has two options, but neither are good.

Option 1: Do Nothing

Illegal immigration is arguably Biden’s biggest vulnerability. We regularly see scenes of third-world chaos at the border, localities struggling to accommodate migrants at the expense of their own residents, and countless horror stories of drug and human trafficking. Only 31% of Americans approve of his handling of immigration, according to the RealClear polling average, while 63% disapprove. What’s more, a recent Harvard/Harris poll showed that immigration has now overtaken inflation as Americans’ number one concern. Even House Democrats and the corporate media are starting to recognize the political liability at the Southern border.

So doing nothing to counter Abbot’s offensive could potentially work to his advantage — at least with moderate voters and anxious representatives. He could sit back and allow Texas to marginally crack down on the border on its own, with only a marginal hit to the administration’s true goal of importing as many illegal immigrants as possible. It might be a relief to remove the ball from his court. He could double down casting Texas Republicans as evil racists, but retreat to a high-minded posture on not further escalating the standoff into a full blown Constitutional crisis.

This would throw some red meat to the base and provide some relief to moderates, as it would least appear that something is being done to close the border.

But frenzied leftists who still hold great influence over the administration likely won’t be satisfied with such an empty gesture. The true believers in an open border will crucify him for inaction; silence is violence after all. Further disillusionment with Biden — already under fire for supporting Israel — could lead more of the far-left base to stay home or vote third party. They demand their enemies be destroyed with the full power of the federal government.

Most importantly, it would show abject weakness if Texas is allowed to openly flaunt the administration while the federal government refuses to assert sovereignty. Everyone would see the emperor has no clothes. Who will defy the administration next?

Option 2: Crack Down

The longer Biden hesitates, the more the progressives within the administration will smell blood in the water. Biden has always been a useful vessel for the far-left, delivering a radical agenda under a palatable visage. As Biden’s position weakens, every careerist bureaucrat will hustle to secure a higher station and greater influence. The whole Democratic alliance could fall apart without Biden as a viable figurehead holding it all together.

To preempt this, Biden — or whoever really calls the shots — could accede to the left-wing preferences and harshly crackdown on the border. This is where things get dicey: to reassert authority would ultimately require some degree of military crackdown against Texas. A political crisis could quickly escalate into a full blown constitutional crisis at the behest of leftist zealots.

But this would be a poison pill for moderates — and the country overall. The federal use of force is never good against fellow citizens, even if your base demands it. Progressives will see an ideologically pure administration saving noble migrants, but everyone else will see hints of a totalitarian spiral. No matter how much the media tries to spin it, the optics are unavoidable: the American people will see the federal government using force to flaunt its own immigration laws and open the border to illegals, all over the staunch disapproval (and detriment) of its own citizens.

So Biden is forced to choose: render himself impotent or actively betray the American people. He won’t win any love either way.