The Biden Administration petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday asking for the court to intervene after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked it from destroying razor wire fencing that Texas had installed along its border with Mexico as an attempt to discourage illegal border crossings.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: U.S. President Joe Biden address a campaign rally on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision which struck down a federal right to abortion at the Mayflower Hotel on June 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. The campaign event was organized by NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and EMILY's List.
According to Reuters, it was on Dec.19 that the 5th Circuit found that a federal judge had been wrong to rule that the U.S. government was immune from a lawsuit brought on by Texas claiming a federal policy of removing the fencing was illegal. The ruling prohibits Border Patrol agents from cutting or moving the controversial fencing as litigation plays out. CNN announced that the Justice Department filed an emergency application, asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.
NBC News reported Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar's statement in a court filing upholding that Border Patrol agents do have the authority under federal law to access private land at the border and that the state of Texas has no basis to derail them from carrying out their duties.
"Like other law-enforcement officers, Border Patrol agents operating under difficult circumstances at the border must make context-dependent, sometimes split-second decisions about how to enforce federal immigration laws while maintaining public safety," Prelogar wrote.
"But the injunction prohibits agents from passing through or moving physical obstacles erected by the state that prevent access to the very border they are charged with patrolling and the individuals they are charged with apprehending and inspecting," she added.
The Biden administration further reiterated Preologar's statements by claiming the razor-wire actually prevents agents from reaching migrants to provide medical assistance if needed to those who have already crossed the border into the U.S. This brings Biden into conflict with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his immigration enforcement plan, called Operation Lone Star. Abbot's plan includes busing thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities and arresting migrants on trespassing charges. The state of Texas had also previously placed buoys in the Rio Grande to help prevent the illegal crossings. This ultimately prompted the Biden administration to move forth with filing a lawsuit.
Lower courts ordered that the buoys be removed.
