Supreme Court allows federal agents to cut razor wire Texas installed on US-Mexico border

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas had installed on the U.S.-Mexico border, as a lawsuit over the razor wire continues.

The justices voted 5-4 to grant an emergency appeal from the Biden administration, which was in an escalating standoff at the Texas border and had objected to an appeal ruling in the state’s favor.

The concertina wire along about 30 miles of the Rio Grande near the border town of Eagle Pass is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s broader battle with the administration over immigration enforcement.

Abbott has also authorized the installation of floating barriers in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass and allowed troopers to arrest and jail thousands of migrants on trespassing charges. The government is also challenging these actions in federal court.

A federal appeals court last month forced federal agents to stop cutting the concertina wire. Large numbers of migrants have crossed Eagle Pass in recent months.

In court filings, the government says the wire prevents Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river, and that federal immigration law in any case trumps Texas’ own efforts to stem the flow of migrants into the country.

Officials in Texas have argued that federal agents cut the wire to help groups crossing the river illegally before being taken for processing.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor sided with the administration. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas voted with Texas.

No one gave any explanation for their vote.