Federal judge forbids Biden admin from removing Texas’ border barriers

Paxton said in a press release following the decision that he will remain committed to fighting the White House's "radical policies" to ensure that all Texans remain safe from the "historic invasion of unvetted foreign aliens into the state."

"I am very pleased the appellate court has forbidden federal agents sent by the Biden administration from destroying our concertina wire fences. Given the ongoing disaster at the southern border due to the federal government’s intentional actions, more than ever it is necessary to take every step we can to hold the line," said Paxton.

"I will continue to fight against the Biden administration's radical policies and work to make Texas a safer, more secure place to live," he added.

The ruling comes after Paxton sued the Biden administration in October for directing federal agents to cut the concertina wire fencing that the state of Texas had installed in areas along the U.S.-Southern border with Mexico.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) shared a video in September that showed Biden's federal agents removing the wire fencing at a high-traffic spot in Eagle Pass, TX in order to allow illegal immigrants to invade the country. The suit claimed that more than 14,000 immigrants had illegally entered the country through that spot during the time the wire was cut.

The lawsuit stated that Texas had strategically positioned concertina wire to secure the border, even getting permission from landowners to erect the wire in high-traffic locations. Despite these measures, the federal government has cut the wire multiple times in the state's ongoing fight with the Biden administration, according to the suit.

Governor Greg Abbott has defended the tactic of using the razor wire, suggesting it wouldn't be necessary if the federal government would do more to solve the border crisis plaguing his state and the country at large.

In addition to the recent court ruling, Texas won another border war against the Biden administration in September when a federal appeals court struck down a judge's order, at the direction of the Biden admin, for the state to remove the 1,000-foot line of buoys that Gov. Abbott had deployed across sections of the Rio Grande to deter migrants from crossing the river.

The court decision comes as recent data released by Border Patrol revealed historic numbers of illegal crossings under the Biden administration at the hands of the president's open border policies.

The US-Southern border has seen more than 2 million illegal crossings within the past year, with more than 6 million encounters since Joe Biden became president in 2021.

Apprehensions of people who are on the terrorist watch list are nearly double last year's record total. According to the CBP data, 172 non-citizens who were on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended at the border, which was an increase from 2022's record year of 98. Before 2021, the highest number was six in 2018, and it has skyrocketed since the Biden administration took over.

Total encounters for enforcement officials was 434,562 higher than in 2022 at a total of 3,201,144 for FY 2023. Since 2020, the total encounters have continued to increase, with 646,822 total encounters in 2020, 1,956,519 a year later, and 2,766,582 two years later.

Former President Donald Trump, who is the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, recently warned about a massive caravan of illegal immigrants headed to the United States. He has vowed to make border security a top priority if he were to take back the White House in 2025.