In a recent legal skirmish over the miles of razor wire installed along the Texas-Mexico border, a federal appeals court has provided a temporary victory for Texas, upholding the presence of the sharp barrier. The issue stemmed from federal agents cutting this wire to offer aid to distressed migrants, with the Justice Department arguing that the wire must be severed for medical assistance. However, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Texas, stipulating that the razor wire must remain while the lawsuit continues, a barricade that has cost Texas over eleven million dollars to implement.
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses of Del Rio weighed in on the conflict, delivering a decision against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, which had sought an order for Border Patrol agents to cease cutting the wire. Although Moses acknowledged criticisms of the federal government’s broader immigration policy, she pointed out the lack of substantial evidence presented by Texas to demonstrate federal law violations. Paxton’s office promptly appealed the decision, leading to the New Orleans-based appeals court issuing a stay on Moses’ ruling. The court granted the Biden administration until Friday to provide its response to the ongoing legal clash.
Attorney General Paxton, expressing satisfaction with the court’s decision, highlighted the federal government’s apparent efforts to subvert law and order at the Texas-Mexico border. Paxton’s lawsuit against the Biden administration in October alleged that Border Patrol agents had illegally destroyed state property by cutting through the concertina wire to aid migrants in what Texas deemed illegal crossings. The Biden administration, in response, argued that the wire cutting was conducted either to provide medical assistance to distressed migrants or when migrants had already entered U.S. territory and needed to be apprehended. The Texas Military Department has allocated $11 million over the past three years to deploy 70,000 rolls of concertina wire along the border, primarily in regions like Eagle Pass, where migrants have sustained serious injuries attempting to traverse the wire, with approximately 29 miles of wire rolled out in Maverick County, encompassing Eagle Pass itself.
