(The Center Square) – 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.
Three lawsuits have been filed over Texas barriers in Eagle Pass: one over the concertina wire barrier, two over the marine barrier.
In response to the ruling, DPS trooper Lt. Chris Olivarez said, “The State of Texas, under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, will maintain its current posture in deterring illegal border crossings by utilizing effective border security measures – reinforced concertina wire and anti-climb barriers along the Rio Grande River.
He also questioned the ruling, saying, “The logical concern should be why the Federal Government continues to hinder Texas’ ability to protect its border, all while allowing for the exploitation, dangerous, and inhumane methods of permitting illegal immigrants, including children, to illegally cross a dangerous river where many have lost their lives.”
He reiterated what the governor and other Texas legislative leaders have said: “Texas is the only state using every strategy and resource to protect its sovereignty, combat criminal activity, and discourage illegal immigration.
“Texas will continue to hold the line.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the ruling was “extremely disappointing and frustrating.” He also singled out Chief Justice John Roberts, saying he let Texas “down again in a critical 5-4 decision as he sides with the liberals on the Court on this important border issue,” adding that “Justice Roberts did not explain his vote.” None of the justices explained their vote.
Patrick also said, “Our country is being invaded by millions, including terrorists, dangerous criminals, and smugglers bringing in fentanyl that kills Americans every day,” necessitating the need for Texas’ border security efforts. The Texas Legislature has allocated more than $11.5 billion of Texas taxpayer money toward border security efforts.
Attorney General Ken Paxton also said, “The Supreme Court’s temporary order allows Biden to continue his illegal effort to aid the foreign invasion of America.” Paxton, who for years has refused to issue an official opinion on Texas sovereignty and the invasion clause of the U.S. Constitution, has recently been using the term, “invasion,” after more than 50 Texas counties have now declared an invasion.
“The destruction of Texas’s border barriers will not help enforce the law or keep American citizens safe,” Paxton said, adding that Texas’ “fight is not over.”
The lawsuit will continue in federal district court. After a hearing and ruling, the case is likely to be appealed to the Fifth Circuit and again to the Supreme Court.
The barriers fall under Abbott’s multi-agency border security mission, Operation Lone Star, which was launched in April 2021. Since then, OLS officers have apprehended more than 496,000 illegal foreign nationals and made more than 38,500 criminal arrests, with more than 34,900 felony charges reported, according to data from the governor’s office. They’ve also seized more than 453 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill more than everyone in Canada and the United States.
“Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden’s open border policies,” Abbott maintains.
The ruling also came after more than 10 million foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. from January 2021 to November 2023, including 1.7 million who evaded capture, The Center Square exclusively reported.
In fiscal 2023, the greatest number of illegal border crossers entered Texas in U.S. history. More than 1.9 million people – nearly 50% of all illegal border crossers reported to have entered the country in fiscal 2023, entered Texas, The Center Square exclusively reported.
Nearly 100 counties in Texas have issued disaster and invasion declarations, or both, citing the border crisis, The Center Square has exclusively reported. No counties have ever done so in U.S. history.
