Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the ongoing legal dispute with the Biden administration over border security fencing erected by the state is “not over” after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in the federal government's favor.
In a social media post, Abbott said, “This is not over. Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings [President Joe] Biden encourages. I will continue to defend Texas' constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property.”
After the city of Eagle Pass issued a disaster declaration last year in response to unprecedented illegal border crossers inundating the small border community with crime and creating a humanitarian crisis, Abbott surged resources there. He directed the National Guard to build additional concertina wire barriers to block illegal entry on Texas soil between federal ports of entry. He also installed a marine barrier and sent more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other resources to the area.
Not soon after, Border Patrol agents began bulldozing and destroying Texas barriers prompting Texas to sue last October. The case went through several lower court rulings, including reversals at the Fifth Circuit. Last month, the Fifth Circuit handed Texas a win, issuing an administrative stay preventing the federal government from cutting, removing or destroying the wire, with few exceptions. On Monday, the high court reversed the Fifth Circuit stay in a 5-4 vote with no justices explaining their decision.