The Supreme Court allowed Border Patrol agents in Texas to cut razor wire installed along the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday.
In a 5-4 vote, the justices granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration.
In court papers, the administration said the wire hinders Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river and that federal immigration law presides over Texas’ efforts to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the country.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor sided with the administration while Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas voted with Texas.
The wire, placed along nearly 30 miles of the Rio Grande near the border is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s larger fight with the administration over immigration enforcement.
