SAN ANTONIO — In a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court allowed border patrol agents to cut the razor wire Texas installed along the border near Eagle Pass.
Governor Greg Abbott installed the wires along about 30 miles along the Rio Grande to keep migrants from crossing into the border.
A lower court ruling last year prevented the federal government from taking it down. But on Monday, the justices granted an emergency appeal from the Biden Administration.
The governor has claimed for months Border Patrol was cutting the wire and therefore, contributing to the surge of migrants. However, the Biden Administration argued the razor wire makes it harder for federal agents to reach migrants who have already cross into the United States.
San Antonio Immigration Attorney Carlos Castañeda said there are certain areas of the law the federal government has complete control over and that includes immigration.
“Immigration is specifically referenced as one of the powers of the federal government so there is a high bar to meet in terms of trying to prevent the federal government in doing something in the area of immigration,” Castañeda said.
Governor Abbott’s spokesperson released a statement to the Associated Press Monday saying the razor wire and other tactics “encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry. while making the job of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers more dangerous and difficult.”
Castañeda said he has not had any of his clients tell him they were deterred from entering the United States because of barriers.
“I really can’t say that the existence of these barriers serves as a meaningful deterrent to people that already made the difficult decision to leave their home countries,” Castañeda said.
This is just the latest fight brewing between Texas leaders and the Biden Administration. Earlier this month, Abbott used National Guard Soldiers to take control of a public park in Eagle Pass that Border Patrol was using to hold and inspect migrants.
Castañeda expects these legal battles to continue.
“This is not the end of the story, there’s plenty of political juice to get from it,” He said. “From a legal perspective, we are barely at the middle.”
The lawsuit over the razor wires is still playing out despite the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday.