Texas Governor Greg Abbott scored another legal victory this week in his ongoing battle with the Biden administration over the Southern border. On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government cannot remove razor wire that Abbott had placed along the Texas-Mexico border.
The court said the wire can stay, as long as federal agents still have access to both sides of it, including areas like Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, which the Texas Military Department took over in January 2024 to stop illegal immigration.
Abbott has frequently clashed with President Biden over border issues, especially concerning the flow of migrants into Texas from Mexico. Earlier in 2024, the Supreme Court allowed federal agents to remove some of the razor wire, leading to Abbott defending his state’s right to protect itself.
With Donald Trump’s election victory in November, Abbott is likely to have a more supportive federal partner.
Tom Homan, a former immigration official, praised Abbott’s efforts and assured that the Trump administration would work with Texas on border security without the constant legal challenges.
The court ruling, which followed days of testimony, found that the razor wire had not stopped Border Patrol agents from doing their job. In fact, it noted that agents had cut through the wire in some cases, allowing migrants to cross more easily.
Erin Corcoran, an immigration law expert, called the ruling surprising, as courts have generally supported the federal government on immigration matters. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani also described the decision as a setback for the Biden administration, though he noted it might not set a broader legal precedent.
Abbott’s border security efforts, including the controversial Operation Lone Star, which started in 2021, have involved sending thousands of Texas law enforcement and National Guard troops to the border and building physical barriers like razor wire and floating buoys in the Rio Grande.
The tension between Abbott’s state-level actions and federal authority over immigration has been a point of conflict, with critics arguing that Abbott is trying to take over immigration enforcement, which has traditionally been the federal government’s responsibility.
Corcoran believes this could have long-term effects on the balance of power between state and federal governments.
Meanwhile, Abbott has used the strategy of busing migrants to Democratic cities like New York and Washington, D.C., but the need for this may be reduced as migrant crossings into Texas have recently dropped.
Daniel Miller, head of the Texas Nationalist Movement, saw the court ruling as predictable and suggested that the Biden administration is unlikely to take further action before Trump’s inauguration in January.