United States

Supreme Court clears way for border agents to remove Texas wire barrier

Author: Ann E. Marimow Source: The Washington Post

January 22, 2024 at 15:26

View of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2024. Julia Nikhinson/Reuters

Even though immigration and border security matters are generally the purview of the federal government, Abbott has mobilized thousands of National Guard troops and lined the banks of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass with razor wire to try to block illegal entries.

The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration on Monday and cleared the way for border patrol agents to remove razor wire Texas officials installed along a busy stretch of the southern border until the legality of the barriers is resolved in court.

As is typical in emergency actions, the majority did not explain its reasoning for dissolving an order from a lower court. Four conservatives — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh — noted their dissents without explanation.

The case is one of several legal battles between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the Biden administration over the governor’s border crackdown, Operation Lone Star. It comes at a time of rising tension over how to handle hundreds of thousands of migrants who have entered the country illegally in recent months.

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