The US Supreme Court has authorised federal authorities to remove razor wire obstacles that Texas Governor Greg Abbott had constructed along the Mexican border. Republicans accuse President Joe Biden of “actively aiding and abetting” a “invasion” as illegal border crossings reach new highs.
In a 5-4 decision on Monday, the court allowed the Biden administration’s emergency appeal and declared that Abbott must enable federal agents access to the border. Although theoretically conservative, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts agreed with their three liberal colleagues to grant the appeal. None of the justices provided written explanations for their decisions.
Abbott moved Texas National Guard troops to the border in 2021 and installed around 30 miles of razor-sharp concertina wire at the popular crossing spot of Eagle Pass. When Biden’s Department of Homeland Security ordered Border Patrol agents to begin cutting the wire last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration, accusing the agents of damaging state property in order to “assist” migrants to “illegally cross” the border.
If the court found with Abbott, the Biden administration claimed that it would allow “state-law regimes” to substitute federal immigration law and would impede federal agents’ capacity to “quickly respond to emergency situations” along the border.
The Supreme Court decision sparked fury among Republicans. “This is beyond inaction,” South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said on X (previously Twitter) Monday evening. “President Biden is actively aiding and abetting the largest southern border invasion our country has ever seen.”
“This is not over,” Abbott said in a tweet. He added that he “will continue to defend Texas’ constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property.” In a series of follow-up social media tweets on Tuesday, Abbott announced that more concertina wire would be installed, and that the national guard would remain in place.
More than 300,000 migrants crossed the US-Mexico border in December, CBS News reported earlier this month, citing government data. This figure represents a record monthly high and eclipses the previous record set in September. At least 7.5 million people – more than the population of the state of Arizona – have entered the US illegally since Biden took office in 2021, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.
