On Monday, a federal judge issued an order temporarily blocking the Biden Administration from using federal agents to cut through razor wire barriers that had been installed on the southern border by the state government of Texas.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the order from U.S. District Judge Alia Moses lasts until November 13th, allowing for both parties to have a hearing on the case on November 7th.
“The Court grants the motion for a temporary restraining order until the parties have an opportunity to present evidence at a preliminary injunction hearing before the Court,” Judge Moses said in her ruling. An exception was made in the ruling that permits federal agents to cut through the razor wire only in the event of a medical emergency.
The decision comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-Texas) had sued the Biden Administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week over the practice. Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) had ordered state authorities to start placing the razor wire along Texas’ southern border with Mexico, in response to the Biden Administration’s deliberate refusal to enforce border security or basic immigration laws.
Paxton argued in his lawsuit that Texas has “the sovereign right to construct border barriers to prevent the entry of illegal aliens.”
Federal officials responded by claiming, with no evidence, that they were only cutting the wires due to medical emergencies involving illegals, or to process illegals who had already set foot on American soil, even if it took place on the other side of the razor wire.
Following the judge’s ruling, a DHS spokesman said that the department would comply with the order. But the spokesman nevertheless defended the practice, claiming that the Border Patrol has “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.”
This is not the first time Governor Abbott and the state of Texas have clashed with the Biden Administration over border security. A similar legal battle took place after Abbott decided to set up massive buoy barriers in the Rio Grande River, in an effort to deter illegals from crossing the river into the United States. After the Biden Administration sued Texas over the matter, a district judge in early September ordered the buoys to be removed; but two days later, an appeals court overturned that decision and allowed the state to keep the buoys in place as the court case continues.