To be fair to Sanchez though, Texas was an independent state at one point, and when it tried to be independent again, it was forcibly taken back.
1. The Republic of Texas voted overwhelmingly to join the United States because it was bordering on failed-state status. Texas' experiment with independence was a disaster.
2. It did not "try to be independent" again, it tried to leave the USA to join a rival multi-state nation, the CSA (which was itself an illegal enterprise). Texan independence was not the objective of the 1861 secession (which was passed over the veto of Governor Houston, a staunch Unionist).
