In a significant legal victory for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, an appellate court ruled on Tuesday that the Biden administration is prohibited from removing the state's concertina wire fencing, a measure implemented to deter illegal immigration.
This decision comes as the lawsuit continues to be contested in court.
Paxton, in a press release following the ruling, reaffirmed his commitment to opposing the White House's "radical policies" and ensuring the safety of Texans from what he termed a "historic invasion of unvetted foreign aliens into the state."
"I am very pleased the appellate court has forbidden federal agents sent by the Biden administration from destroying our concertina wire fences. Given the ongoing disaster at the southern border due to the federal governments intentional actions, more than ever it is necessary to take every step we can to hold the line," Paxton stated. He vowed to continue his fight against the Biden administration's policies and work towards making Texas a safer place to live.
The ruling follows Paxton's lawsuit against the Biden administration in October, which accused the federal government of directing agents to dismantle the concertina wire fencing that Texas had installed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) had previously shared a video in September showing federal agents, allegedly under Biden's directive, removing the wire fencing at a high-traffic location in Eagle Pass, TX. The lawsuit claimed that this action facilitated the illegal entry of over 14,000 immigrants during the period when the wire was cut.
The lawsuit further stated that Texas had strategically positioned concertina wire to secure the border, even obtaining permission from landowners to install the wire in high-traffic areas. Despite these efforts, the federal government has repeatedly cut the wire, exacerbating the state's ongoing conflict with the Biden administration, according to the lawsuit.
Governor Abbott has defended the use of razor wire, arguing that such measures would not be necessary if the federal government took more decisive action to address the border crisis affecting both his state and the country.
In addition to this recent court ruling, Texas secured another victory against the Biden administration in September. A federal appeals court overturned a judge's order, issued at the behest of the Biden administration, for Texas to remove a 1,000-foot line of buoys that Governor Abbott had deployed across sections of the Rio Grande to deter migrant crossings.
This court decision coincides with the release of recent data from Border Patrol, which reveals a historic surge in illegal crossings under the Biden administration, attributed to the president's open border policies.
The US-Mexico border has witnessed over 2 million illegal crossings in the past year, with more than 6 million encounters since President Biden took office in 2021. Apprehensions of individuals on the terrorist watch list have nearly doubled compared to last year's record total. According to CBP data, 172 non-citizens on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended at the border, marking an increase from the previous record of 98 in 2022. Prior to 2021, the highest number was six in 2018, a figure that has soared since the Biden administration assumed power.
Total encounters for enforcement officials in FY 2023 were 434,562 higher than in 2022, totaling 3,201,144. Since 2020, total encounters have continued to rise, with 646,822 total encounters in 2020, 1,956,519 a year later, and 2,766,582 two years later.
Former President Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, recently warned of a massive caravan of illegal immigrants headed to the United States. He pledged to prioritize border security if he were to regain the presidency in 2025.
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