The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Biden administration, granting their emergency request to allow Border Patrol agents to cut through or move razor wire installed by Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden administration argued that Texas was preventing agents from carrying out their duties and that the wire was preventing agents from reaching migrants who had already crossed into the U.S. The brief order noted that four conservative members of the court would have rejected the government’s request.
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, a Republican, installed the razor wire near the Rio Grande as part of an operation to address illegal immigration. The wire has brought the state into conflict with the Biden administration and led to a legal battle. Abbott’s immigration enforcement plan, called Operation Lone Star, includes busing thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities and arresting migrants on trespassing charges. The state previously placed buoys in the Rio Grande to prevent crossings, prompting the Biden administration to sue.
Following the Supreme Court’s order, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement criticizing the decision, claiming that it allows Biden to continue his “illegal effort to aid the foreign invasion of America.” Paxton emphasized that the fight is not over and that he looks forward to defending the state’s sovereignty in this ongoing legal battle.