WASHINGTON (CN) — Texas responded Tuesday to the Biden administration’s emergency appeal at the Supreme Court, urging the justices to keep Border Patrol from cutting through razor wire barriers that block agents from reaching migrants who enter the U.S. through the Southwest border.
The state says the White House cannot use federal authority as an excuse to destroy Texas’ property.
“Defendants seek emergency relief pending appeal without making any argument that they did not destroy Texas’s property, directly contrary to basic principles of Texas tort law,” Aaron Neilson, the state’s solicitor general, wrote. “That maximalist view of federal authority is not new: At every stage of this litigation — in the district court, in the Fifth Circuit, and now in this court — defendants have claimed authority to destroy property that belongs to someone else based on their assurance that doing so is necessary to enforce federal immigration laws.”
Texas argued that the Supreme Court’s intervention is not necessary in the matter because the Fifth Circuit has already agreed to hear expedited arguments early next month.
At issue in the disagreement is miles of concertina wire and shipping containers lining Texas’ border in an attempt to deter migrants from illegally entering the country. The state has spent $9 billion on its border security initiative coined Operation Lone Star.
Texas described border towns like Eagle Pass as the epicenter of the immigration crisis. Bordering the Rio Grande, migrants must cross the river's strong currents to enter the U.S. The state aimed at blocking their entry by staging miles of wire barriers along the bank of the river. The barrier prevents migrants from reaching the shore and border agents from reaching migrants.
Border Patrol claims that this barrier prevents it from carrying out its duty to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally. The wire also presents obstacles to emergency response efforts.
Needing to reach the migrants to conduct their work, federal agents say they were forced to cut through the wire. Texas responded by suing the government, claiming the Biden administration was trespassing. An appeals court ordered the federal government to halt its efforts, stating that agents may only cut through the wire in medical emergencies.
The Biden administration then asked the high court to step in.
“By preventing Border Patrol agents from reaching noncitizens who have already entered the United States, Texas’s barriers in Eagle Pass impede agents’ ability to apprehend and inspect migrants under federal law,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote.
Texas was ordered to respond to the application. In its filing, the state argues there is no reason for the Supreme Court to intervene. Texas said the Fifth Circuit already agreed to a quick review and there is no harm in allowing the lower court to review the case first.
The Supreme Court could respond to the application at any time.
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