Biden Admin Urges Supreme Court to Let CBP Agents Remove Razor Wire on Southern Border

The Biden administration has called on the U.S. Supreme Court to permit Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to dismantle a barbed wire barrier erected by Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border amid an intensifying legal face-off with the state. However, an emergency motion issued by the administration on Tuesday, articulated by Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, claimed the exemption would do little to aid migrants. Prelogar argued that notwithstanding Texas and the appeals court's belief that a discretional provision allowing agents to sever the wire in the event of pressing medical emergencies would free federal agents to address life-threatening situations, they overlooked indisputable evidence that it might take from 10 to 30 minutes to sever Texas's dense razor-wire layers. She warned that by the time a medical emergency is detected, it might be too late to administer life-saving aid.

Moreover, the solicitor general asserted the wire barrier inhibits agents from accessing migrants who have already made their way across the border into the U.S., thereby hindering their ability to apprehend and inspect migrants as per federal law. The obstructive wire barrier could also hinder Border Patrol from providing emergency help to migrants on the river or its bank, she added.

The wire fencing was set up on privately-held land along Rio Grande by the Texas National Guard under Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott's administration, a Republican. Texas has made accusations that border patrol agents under Biden's reign have trimmed parts of the razor-wire barrier, causing harm to the state property.

In the court filing, Solicitor General Prelogar contended that under federal law, Border Patrol agents have the right to access private border land. The Republican governor responded saying, “Americans and the courts will refuse to entertain Biden’s animosity towards immigration laws,” and that Texas “will continue to mobilize National Guard to construct border barriers and repel illegal immigrants.” Mr. Johnson said, “Don’t let them fool you, they are still being let into our country. Under the presidency of Biden, our Southern border is a disaster."