On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration has the authority to remove the razor wire installed along the southern border of Texas.
However, Texas appears to interpret this ruling as a challenge, prompting further installation of barriers.
Lieutenant Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, stated on Wednesday during an interview with Glenn Beck, a nationally syndicated radio host and co-founder of Blaze Media, that "nothing has changed" following the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision. He emphasized that the Texas Department of Public Safety and the National Guard remain committed to their operations.
"We're still continuing operations at Shelby Park. We still have restricted access to Border Patrol in that area," Olivarez said. "And, in fact, the National Guard is installing more barriers, more concertina wire, more fencing along the river to make it challenging and discourage illegal crossings. Texas is not backing down."
Following the Supreme Court's decision, Texas officials were reportedly seen installing new razor wire and anti-climb fences in Eagle Pass, a border city that houses the contentious municipal park seized by Texas on January 10.
In December, Eagle Pass witnessed thousands of illegal immigrants entering the country daily. NewsNation reported that over 4,000 migrants crossed into the area on December 18, 2023, alone.
According to data, 2.47 million, 2.37 million, and 1.73 million illegal immigrants entered the United States in fiscal years 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. Already in this fiscal year, over 500,000 have crossed the border.
Governor Greg Abbott supported Olivarez's statement with a tweet on Wednesday, stating, "Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent against the illegal border crossings encouraged by Biden's open border policies. We continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration."
The Texas Military Department also echoed this sentiment, announcing on Tuesday that it would "hold the line in Shelby Park to deter and prevent unlawful entry into the State of Texas."
Highlighting the urgency of Texas' ongoing efforts, Lieutenant Olivarez told Beck that criminal elements are "exploiting the current situation, but yet, our own federal government is not doing anything to stop it. And, of course, when Texas steps up, we're criticized for what we're doing."
"We want to stop those public safety and national security threats. Just today, Border Patrol released [that] there was over 96,000 known gotaways since Oct. 1 for this fiscal year," Olivarez continued. "Those are individuals that have made it into the country right now and we don't know where they're at, what their intentions are. ... You can only imagine the type of people in the country right now that have been able to get away. The threat is here."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection informed Fox News on Wednesday that nearly 100,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the border and vanished into the U.S. since October, at a rate of nearly 800 per day. The agency's enforcement statistics reveal that 169 individuals on the terror watch list were apprehended at the southern border last year, with 30 apprehended since October.
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