A federal appeals court prohibited the Biden administration from removing razor wire that Texas officials installed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
In its ruling on Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the administration's claim in a 2-1 decision that sovereign immunity barred a lawsuit by Texas Republicans that accuses the federal government of trespassing. The decision prevents federal border patrol agents from removing the fencing except in an emergency.
Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, appointed by President-elect Donald Trump, authored Wednesday's majority opinion, stating that Texas was merely seeking to protect its property rather than attempting to "regulate" U.S. Border Patrol. Duncan further indicated that Texas was likely to prevail on its trespass claims.
The rulings said that: "Texas's move into the park, it turned out, had only a marginal effect on Border Patrol's access and had nothing to do with the drownings."
Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, appointed by President Joe Biden, dissented from the majority opinion authored by Duncan and Judge Don Willett, who was also appointed by President Trump.
Reacting to the ruling, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "The federal court of appeals just ruled that Texas has the right to build the razor wire border wall that we have constructed to deny illegal entry into our state and that Biden was wrong to cut our razor wire. We continue adding more razor wire border barriers."
"Huge win for Texas," the state's Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton posted on X.
"It was shocking to me that the federal government would go out of their way to cut razor wire to allow illegals to cross when we're just trying to protect our own land," Paxton said on Newsmax. "This wasn't their land. This was our land, our private property. It had nothing due to the federal government. So this is a good win for Texas, a good win for the country, that this court recognized our ability to protect our land."
The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marks the latest development in the legal battle between Texas and Biden over deterrents used to curb migration.
Paxton sued the Biden administration last September after Border Patrol agents cut razor wire in Eagle Pass.
In an emergency appeal in January, the Supreme Court ruled that border patrol agents can remove razor wire that was installed by Texas officials along the border. The 5-4 ruling temporarily paused a lower court's decision that forced law enforcement to stop cutting wire near Eagle Pass.
Abbott has been in a long-running standoff with Biden's administration over concerns about border enforcement policies in Texas. The governor has expressed concern at what he views as inadequate federal action to address the increase in migrant crossings.
In June 2023, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas, claiming that the state had not obtained a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct the buoy barrier.
In July a federal appeals court ruled that floating barriers in the Rio Grande could remain, but the legal wrangling continues, with the Biden administration insisting that Texas' use of buoys has violated the federal Rivers and Harbors Act.
Speaking on the immigration problem facing Texas, Democratic state senator Royce West told Newsweek: "We all know that the flow of migrants into the U.S. through Texas and other states is a problem that has lasted through both Democrat and Republican administrations and will require comprehensive immigration reform to be approved by Congress.
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