A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the state of Texas and against the Biden administration about allowing Border Patrol agents to remove barbed wires on the border.
The ruling was made by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in an administration stay that temporarily paused a prior court ruling on Monday. This was done after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a swift appeal.
Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Texas
The appeal was made against a ruling made by US District Judge Alia Moses, where she declined to issue an injunction that blocks the federal government from removing the wire. The state of Texas sued the current administration for its practice of cutting the border wire in late October.
In a statement following the ruling, Paxton said he was pleased that the court recognized the extent of the federal government's efforts to subvert law and order at Texas' border with Mexico. He said it was a crucial step to support the state's right to protect its citizens from Biden's doctrine of open borders, as per the Western Journal.
The Republican lawmaker said that the president's policy threatens the safety of Americans, noting that they would continue to fight it every step of the way. In Moses' Wednesday ruling, the judge said that the evidence "amply demonstrates the utter failure of the Biden administration in deterring, preventing, and halting unlawful entry into the US.
Moses' ruling was seen as a temporary defeat for Texas officials who argued that Border Patrol agents have repeatedly cut, damaged, or moved some of the wire on the border. These stretched roughly 30 miles near the border city of Eagle Pass.
That area is where large numbers of migrants have crossed in the past few months amid the country's migrant crisis. Moses noted that using the razor wire had proven effective in deterring migrants elsewhere along Texas' southern border.
Using Barbed Wire To Deter Migrants
Following Moses' Wednesday ruling, Border Patrol agents were allowed to cut the barbed wires in emergencies. This includes when a migrant on the other side of the blockade needs medical assistance, according to the Associated Press.
However, Texas officials argued that federal agents were also cutting down the wires to help groups of migrants illegally cross through the river before taking them in for processing. Moses noted that the state failed to prove that wire cutting was a formal policy.
The state of Texas also installed razor wire around El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, where migrants have also been recorded to cross in large numbers. However, the barrier drew the sharpest criticism in Eagle Pass due to reports of injuries.
Paxton's lawsuit against Border Patrol agents claimed they had recently stepped up the existing practice of cutting wire. This allegedly included a barbed wire set up strategically with landowners' permission.
On top of this, Texas is separately defending its authority to install floating buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande to deter migrants from swimming across. According to Reuters, a federal judge ordered the barrier removed in September.
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