Appeals Court Sides with Texas Over Razor Wire Border Barrier

Earlier this year, Abbott directed the Texas National Guard to install more than 100 miles of wire along the Texas–Mexico border.

The state of Texas was given the green light to continue building a razor wire border barrier to prevent illegal immigration at the southern border.

On Tuesday, Gov. Gregg Abbott shared an update on the project after an appeals court sided with the state.

“The federal court of appeals just ruled that Texas has the right to build the razor wire border wall that we have constructed to deny illegal entry into our state.and that Biden was wrong to cut our razor wire,” Gov. Gregg Abbott wrote in a post on X. “We continue adding more razor wire border barrier.”

Earlier this year, Abbott directed the Texas National Guard to install more than 100 miles of wire along the Texas–Mexico border as part of Operation Lone Star, a multi-agency effort to deter illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

This isn’t the first time that Texas has faced legal challenges over attempts to secure the southern border.

In 2023, Texas deployed buoy barriers on the Rio Grande to address the surge of migrants crossing the river to enter the United States.

Biden sued the state over its efforts and a federal district court granted the Biden administration a preliminary injunction and ordered the buoys to be removed.

The White House argued that Abbott’s policies made it difficult for U.S. Border Patrol agents to access the river.

“Those are unlawful actions that are not helpful and are undermining what the president has put forward and is trying to do,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the media at the time.

The appeals court later sided with the state.

“The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Texas’s favor, finding that the federal district court abused its discretion when it ordered Texas to remove the buoys floating in the Rio Grande that prevent aliens from attempting a dangerous river crossing to enter America illegally,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.“The buoys can remain in the river.”

Abbott recently met with Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar. Abbott and Homan received an intelligence briefing from border officials on Tuesday. They also took an aerial tour over the Eagle Pass area to view the razor wire barriers and other deterrents.

Homan has outlined plans to carry out mass deportations, a promise made by Trump on the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing back against Trump’s impending deportation efforts, including Denver Mayor Mike Johnston who recently said that he would be willing to go to jail in order to protect illegal immigrants in his sanctuary city.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, Border Patrol agents have apprehended nearly 7 million illegal immigrants at the southern border during the Biden administration.