The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Texas can continue constructing razor wire barriers along its border.
Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan wrote that Texas is trying to protect its property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol.
The ruling added that “public interest supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control. That interest is protected by ensuring that the actions taken by federal agents to enforce immigration law do not unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”
In response to the ruling, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote on X that the state will “continue adding more razor wire border barrier.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote that the “Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing.”
“We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security,” he said on X.
Earlier this year, Supreme Court justices granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration, permitting Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire. In court documents, the administration said the wire hinders Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river, adding that federal immigration law presides over Texas’ efforts to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the country.
Texas then added more razor wire along its border in defiance of the Supreme Court.
