That was the whole reason we went with the Texas campaign. NO WAY would ANY US government give Texas away.
My group is still debating the whole independent republic or just the base of the nations rebuilding. They HATE leaving Americans to suffer and leaving all those resources unprotected.
I think they are leaning towards an independent republic but one that will accept all American refugees. Even to the point of sending "recruiters" to highly populated areas looking for skilled workers.
They have a problem with drawing the line through...when is resource collection cross the line with stealing?