Texas sues to stop federal agents from cutting razor wire on border

Texas sued the Biden administration Tuesday seeking to stop federal agents from cutting razor wire on the border.

“Texas has the sovereign right to construct border barriers to prevent the entry of illegal aliens,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a news release.

In the suit, Paxton alleges that the Biden administration is “undermining” efforts by Texas to ensure state security.

Concerns about the effects of the wire and its damage, strung along rivers on the state’s border with Mexico, have been raised by both environmental and migrant advocates.

The razor wire has reportedly injured migrants as they have tried to cross the southern border in locations like Brownsville and Eagle Pass on the Rio Grande. In some cases, federal agents have had to cut the wire to free to the migrants caught in it, according to The Associated Press.

Texas has repeatedly butted heads with the federal government as it ramps up efforts to stop migrants from crossing its southern border. The Department of Justice sued Texas in July to try to force Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to remove buoys meant to block migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement announcing the suit.

“This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns,” Gupta said.

However, Abbott argued this week that it was the Biden administration that is breaking the law by trying to take down border obstacles.

“Americans across the country were horrified to watch Biden’s open-border policy in action: agents were physically cutting wires and assisting the aliens’ entry into our state,” he said in a statement. “This is illegal. It puts our country and our citizens at risk. The courts must put a stop to it, or Biden’s free-for-all will make this crushing immigration crisis even worse.”