On Monday, a federal judge temporarily banned the Biden administration from cutting or removing razor wire placed along the southern border by Texas officials, CBS News reported.
Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to prevent federal agents from illegally cutting and destroying the barriers. Paxton filed the complaint against the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Customs and Border Protection, CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller, Border Patrol, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, and Acting Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Juan Bernal.
Paxton accused the Biden administration of “undermining Texas’s efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration” by repeatedly cutting the razor-wire fencing that the state strategically placed along the border to “fill the breach created by the federal government’s indolence.”
Texas said the federal government ramped up its efforts to destroy the barriers in recent months, including after the lawsuit was filed. In a motion filed Friday, the state accused the Biden administration of bringing in a forklift last week to remove spools of razor wire, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Brian Cooney, a Texas Military Department staff sergeant, submitted a sworn statement, calling the move a “brazen escalation.” According to Cooney, after removing the barrier, Border Patrol agents proceeded to help 310 migrants through the opening.
“This court should immediately grant a temporary restraining order to enjoin defendants from continuing to damage, destroy, or otherwise meddle with Texas’s concertina wire fence until the court can rule,” the filing read.
The DHS declined to comment on the Friday motion, the Houston Chronicle stated. However, earlier in the week, a spokesperson told the outlet, “Border Patrol agents have a responsibility under federal law to take those who have crossed onto U.S. soil without authorization into custody for processing, as well as to act when there are conditions that put our workforce or migrants at risk.”
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Alisa Moses on Monday blocked the Biden administration from removing, scrapping, disassembling, or encumbering the razor-wire placed by Texas officials, CBS News reported. Federal agents may still remove the wire to “provide or obtain emergency medical aid.”
The temporary restraining order will continue for two weeks, and a hearing is scheduled for November 7.
The DHS did not respond to a request for comment from CBS News.
“The federal government’s outrageous escalation in response to our lawsuit demonstrates Biden’s disturbing contempt for the State of Texas, for the citizens of the United States, and for our country’s entire foundation of the rule of law,” Paxton stated. “By acting quickly and monitoring their actions closely, we were able to secure a restraining order, and I am confident we will continue to prevail.”
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