OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:18 PM – Monday, October 30, 2023
A Texas judge has temporarily barred the Biden administration from taking down razor wire along the U.S.-Mexican border that was installed by the Texas governor’s office to prevent immigrants from crossing the border illegally.
In certain cases, the U.S. Border Patrol has maintained that cutting the wire is necessary to save the lives of illegal immigrants who are in danger of drowning or dehydration.
In September, Eagle Pass, Texas, became the hub of a wave of migrant arrivals, and agents began routinely slicing through layers of razor wire there.
Judge Alia Moses of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas decided on Monday that the wire is Texas’ “property,” showing favor to Texas’ lawsuit to stop the Border Patrol agents from cutting it.
However, the restraining order to stop wire cutting is temporary and will only be in place until November 13th so that both sides can present arguments in court.
In her opinion, Moses said she will need to consider the property rights of those consenting to have wire placed on their land, which is Texas’s right to assist those property owners. She also said that the Biden administration has “responsibilities over national security and border security, and its powers to effectuate its duties, up to and including the destruction of private or state property.”
Border Patrol will be prohibited from removing the wire “for any reason other than to provide or obtain emergency medical aid.”
A Texas government whistleblower said that state agents were instructed to “push” migrant children into the Rio Grande and refuse water to those who were clearly distraught and thirsty.
The government employee who came forward with the alleged information was assigned to serve at an emergency site at Fort Bliss, Texas, during the spring and summer of 2021. This was reportedly at the start of the Biden administration, when there was a significant increase in the number of migrant children crossing the border without the presence of adults.
The state’s efforts to prevent migrants from crossing have caused the Abbott administration and the Biden administration to clash on several occasions.
The Biden administration claimed that Abbott’s border buoys in the Rio Grande endangered migrant lives and violated international accords pertaining to rivers that the United States and Mexico share.
In September, a different Texas court made the decision to remove the buoys.
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