EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - MARCH 21: Razor wire is seen atop fencing on the banks of the Rio Grande river near Shelby Park on March 21, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court authorized Senate Bill 4, a federal appeals court halted th …
Federal judges on Wednesday said Texas has the right to build and maintain its razor wire border fence near Eagle Pass.
In a 2-1 decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state's request for an injunction preventing border patrol agents from cutting sections of concertina wire along the Texas-Mexico border.
The ruling prevents federal agents from damaging or destroying the fence near Eagle Pass when agents have access to both sides of the fence for "immigration law enforcement purposes" and must include the land side of the fence in Shelby Park.
The two sides have been locked in a legal battle over the installation of the fence at Eagle Pass in Maverick County.
By September 2023, more than 29 miles of razor wire had been placed in the area.
Court documents state that border patrol agents were cutting sections of the wire that month to allow more migrants to enter the state without supervision.
Texas sued in federal court which ruled federal agents cut the wire "for no apparent purpose other than to allow migrants easier entrance further inland." However, they did not side with the state, claiming the United States had not waived its sovereign immunity and Texas' injunction was denied.
A motions panel, in December, granted the state's request for an appeal ruling the federal government waives its right to immunity when no monetary reliefs are requested.
The ruling was vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2024.
The appeals court then sent the case back to district court for more evidence.
The United States argued that the implementation of the fencing prevented border patrol access to two migrants who drowned in the Rio Grande near Shelby Park.
The judges ruled that the state's move into Shelby Park had minimal impact on border patrol's access and did not have an impact on the drownings.
The federal government had filed documents in January claiming Texas prevented access by border patrol to save the two migrants from drowning on Jan. 12, 2024.
The court found that border patrol agents had arrived at Shelby Park an hour and a half after the drownings occurred.
Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez wrote the dissent claiming Texas had not met its burden of proof to show a waiver of sovereign immunity.