Texas officials have frequently clashed with the Biden administration over the latter’s lax immigration policies, which have ushered in an unparalleled wave of illegal immigration over the past three years.
For his part, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has spearheaded a sizable investment in security and other deterrents along the Mexico-Texas border, several of which have attracted the ire of federal authorities.
One notable battle involves the installation of floating barriers in strategic locations within the Rio Grande.
Last week, a judge ruled against Texas in its effort to stop federal agents from cutting down razor wire installed along the border. On Monday, however, an appeals court implemented a temporary stay that prevented Border Patrol officers from taking down the wire installed by the state.
Texas initially filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration in October over the destruction of the razor wire.
In her ruling last week, U.S. District Court Judge Alina Moses decided not to grant the injunction sought by Texas authorities, prompting an immediate appeal by Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.
While Moses sided with the Biden administration on legal grounds, her ruling was nonetheless harsh in its assessment of the actions agents have taken on the border.
“The law may be on the side of the Defendants and compel a resolution in their favor today, but it does not excuse their culpable and duplicitous conduct,” the judge wrote. “The Defendants cannot claim the statutory duties they are so obviously derelict in enforcing as excuses to puncture the Plaintiff’s attempts to shore up the Defendants’ failing system. Nor may they seek judicial blessing of practices that both directly contravene those same statutory obligations and require the destruction of the Plaintiff’s property.”
Just days after that decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on the matter. Paxton released a statement expressing his gratitude for the favorable ruling.
🚨 BREAKING: Today We Won An Administrative Stay Preventing Biden and Mayorkas from Destroying Texas Border Barriers. https://t.co/3id70jsNhY
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) December 4, 2023
“I am pleased the court recognized the extent of the federal government’s blatant and disturbing efforts to subvert law and order at our State’s border with Mexico,” he said. “This is an important step supporting Texas’s right to protect our citizens from Biden’s doctrine of open borders at any cost.”
