Appeals court rules federal border agents can’t cut through Texas’ razor wire

A federal appeals court on Monday issued a stay prohibiting federal border agents from cutting razor wire deployed along the Texas-Mexico border as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star immigration crackdown, according to the Texas Tribune.

The 5th Circuit of Appeals — recognized as the nation’s most conservative federal appeals court — ruled that Border Patrol agents stationed along the Rio Grande can’t cut through the state’s concertina wire to provide medical aid to migrants in distress, the Tribune reports.

The ruling by the New Orleans-based court puts a temporary hold on last week’s verdict by Del Rio-based U.S. District Judge Alia Moses, who ruled in favor of the Biden Administration.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the federal government in October, alleging Border Patrol agents who cut through wire barriers strung during Operation Lone Star were destroying state property. However, Moses wrote in her decision that the state’s attorneys hadn’t provided sufficient evidence.

The Biden administration has until Friday to respond to the 5th Circuit’s ruling.

The Texas Military Department has spent $11 million placing 70,0000 rolls of razor wire along the state’s border with Mexico over the past three years, according to the Tribune.

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This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 12, 2023.