The Newsweek reported on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said “this is not over” after a divided Supreme Court handed the Biden administration a victory on Monday by allowing federal agents to remove razor wire that Texas installed along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The installation of the razor wire near the border city of Eagle Pass was among several aggressive measures the Republican governor has taken in a bid to stop migrants from entering the U.S. illegally.
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, denied Texas’ request to block the removal of the razor wire, which the state claimed was necessary to protect its residents from the “ongoing and imminent invasion” of migrants.
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The majority of the justices did not explain their reasoning, but Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal members and Justice Brett Kavanaugh in rejecting Texas’ plea.
The four conservative justices who dissented were Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.
Abbott, who has clashed with the Biden administration over immigration policies, said he was disappointed by the ruling but vowed to continue his efforts to secure the border.
“This is not over,” he tweeted. “Texas will use every available resource to protect Texans from the Biden Administration’s open border policies that invite every illegal alien, drug smuggler & human trafficker into our state.”
The governor also said he would appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has previously sided with Texas on immigration matters.
The Biden administration argued that Texas had no authority to interfere with the federal government’s control over the border and that the razor wire posed a safety hazard to both migrants and border agents.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it had removed about 25 miles of razor wire from the border since January and planned to remove another 10 miles by the end of the month.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the razor wire was “not only inconsistent with our values as a nation, but also ineffective at achieving our shared goal of a safe and secure border.”
He added that the Biden administration was committed to working with Texas and other border states to address the challenges posed by migration flows, which have surged in recent months.
According to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more than 1.7 million migrants have been encountered at the southwest border in the current fiscal year, which began in October.
The Biden administration has attributed the increase to a variety of factors, including poverty, violence and corruption in the migrants’ home countries, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.
The administration has also faced criticism from some Democrats and human rights groups for continuing to use a public health order known as Title 42, which allows the rapid expulsion of most migrants without due process.
The administration has said it is working to build a more humane and orderly immigration system, but that it will take time and cooperation from Congress and other partners.
