[UPDATE] Texas Border Dispute: Ken Paxton Says State Will Not Comply With Supreme Court Ruling

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday said that his state has no plans to comply with the Supreme Court that orders local law enforcement to grant federal agents access to a riverfront park.

The statement comes as the Republican-led state has been in a border dispute with United States President Joe Biden as Border Patrol agents are unable to access some parts of the southern border.

Ken Paxton on Texas Border Dispute

(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that the state will not comply with the Supreme Court's ruling that allows federal agents access to a part of the border.

Paxton's defiance comes after the Supreme Court issued a ruling earlier this week that cleared the way for Border Patrol agents to cut or remove razor wire that Texas authorities installed around Shelby Park. This particular area has become a popular corridor for migrants to illegally enter the United States, as per Fox News.

On top of the state attorney general's comments, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday accused the federal government of breaking the compact with the states following the high court's ruling.

The Republican official said that President Biden has refused to enforce proper immigration laws and claimed that the Democrat has even violated some of them. The situation is the latest escalation in a legal and political standoff between Texas and the federal government.

However, Abbott stopped short of announcing any specific measures against the Biden administration and its efforts. The Republican governor has been pushing constitutional boundaries on state versus federal jurisdiction of border and immigration enforcement for nearly two years.

Abbott's legal team, including Paxton, first publicly considered the idea of formally declaring a border "invasion" in April 2022. In November of that year, the governor wrote Biden invoking a state's constitutional right to wage war when it is being invaded but only made his official invasion declaration public in September last year.

Since then, the Texas official has methodically increased the border enforcement roles of the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard. He cited the constitutional authority for a state to defend itself against invasion.

Supreme Court's Ruling

The governor said that that authority is the supreme law of the land and claimed that it supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The state's actions have precipitated several legal battles surrounding Operation Lone Star, the Republican's initiative to take greater control over the enforcement of immigration, according to The Hill.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the matter was a 5-4 decision that granted an emergency request filed by the Biden administration. The federal government had repeatedly claimed that the razor wire prevented agents from reaching migrants who had already crossed the border.

On Monday, a White House spokesperson said that Texas' political stunts only made it harder and more dangerous for frontline personnel to do their jobs. He added that they ultimately need adequate resources and policy changes to the broken immigration system.

On the other hand, Texas sued Border Patrol agents who cut through some of the razor wire installations, claiming that they had trespassed and damaged state property. Abbott's Operation Lone Star also includes giving authority to local law enforcement to arrest migrants on trespassing charges, said NBC News.