Texas filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Tuesday, seeking to prevent the federal government from illegally cutting and destroying razor-wire fencing placed along the southern border by state officials.
The Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol are named as defendants in the lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The complaint also names DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, and Acting Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Juan Bernal.
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CBP encountered roughly 458,000 migrants at the southern border in fiscal year 2020, 1.7 million in 2021, and nearly 2.4 million in 2022. Between fiscal year 2019 and 2022, the number of detected “gotaways” increased by 303%, the complaint noted.
“But the border crisis is not just limited to harms of this unprecedented influx of unlawful immigration. It also includes deadly drug smuggling, human trafficking, infiltration by suspected terrorists, and other criminal drug cartel activities,” the Texas lawsuit continued. “To date, in FY2023, CBP has seized over 22,000 pounds of fentanyl — compared with 8,300 pounds over the same period in FY2022.”
According to Paxton’s suit, Texas has been working to “fill the breach created by the federal government’s indolence.”
In 2021, Republican Governor Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, an initiative that aims to curb illegal immigration by utilizing several state agencies, including the Texas Military Department. To fill gaps in the U.S.-Mexico border that have been left exposed by the federal government, the TMD purchased and installed concertina-wire fencing along the southern border with permission from landowners.
According to the lawsuit, CBP has cut Texas’ strategically placed razor-wire fencing on previous occasions but has recently ramped up its efforts to destroy the barriers “without any justification.”
“Since September 20, 2023, federal agents have developed and implemented a policy, pattern, or practice of destroying Texas’s concertina wire to encourage and assist thousands of aliens to illegally cross the Rio Grande and enter Texas. Federal agents not only cut Texas’s concertina wire, but also attach ropes or cables from the back of pickup trucks to ease aliens’ ability to illegally climb up the riverbank into Texas. And they regularly cut new openings in the wire fence, sometimes immediately after Texas officers have placed new wire to plug up gaps in fencing barriers,” the lawsuit claimed.
The complaint accused the Biden administration of illegally destroying Texas’ property and disrupting the state’s efforts to secure the border.
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Paxton stated Tuesday, “Texas has the sovereign right to construct border barriers to prevent the entry of illegal aliens.”
“Americans across the country were horrified to watch Biden’s open-border policy in action: Agents were physically cutting wires and assisting the aliens’ entry into our state,” Paxton continued. “This is illegal. It puts our country and our citizens at risk. The courts must put a stop to it, or Biden’s free-for-all will make this crushing immigration crisis even worse.”
* Original Article:
https://www.theblaze.com/news/texas-sues-biden-admin-for-cutting-razor-wire-fencing-along-southern-border
