State attorneys argued against the Biden administration in New Orleans Thursday in defense of Texas’ concertina wire fencing at the Texas-Mexico border.
Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement detailing the progress made at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals following yesterday’s arguments.
Paxton said, “We emphasized that a judge found that federal border officials destroyed our State’s property not to enforce federal law but rather to facilitate illegal border crossing.”
The attorney general’s statement also noted the Biden administration failed to be straightforward with the U.S. Supreme Court in reporting actions Texas took to increase border security.
Earlier this year, many news outlets amplified a false narrative by blaming Texas for deaths that occurred at an illegal border crossing in the Rio Grande. That narrative has been completely disproven, revealing that these tragic deaths were weaponized to score political points. Not only has Texas shown that the federal government knew at the time that Texas was not responsible for the tragedy but even the federal government now agrees this issue is irrelevant to any of the questions properly before the court.
Additionally, Texas attorneys asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to analyze footage posted to X by Gov. Greg Abbott in September 2023 featuring federal agents destroying concertina wire fences—opening the passageway for illegal aliens to cross into Texas.
“I immediately deployed more Texas National Guard to repel illegal crossings & install more razor wire,” Abbott wrote in the post.
Texas also highlighted the federal government’s contradictions in its asylum claims.
“The federal government has insisted from the beginning of this case that migrants cannot be turned away because they believe all aliens are entitled to asylum protections upon setting foot in the United States,” Paxton said.
“Now, Biden represents his Executive Order as a tool to reduce border crossings by turning away some aliens who claim asylum, revealing they do not even believe their own arguments.”
According to Paxton, this has weakened the Biden administration’s position in the case.
“I will continue to pursue every remedy available to stand up for our citizens against Biden’s border catastrophe,” Paxton concluded.
This comes as Senate Bill 4—a law signed by Abbott last year that criminalizes illegal entry into Texas—is still bogged down in the court system.
