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The
New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a judge
was wrong to rule that the U.S. government was immune from a
lawsuit by Texas claiming a federal policy of removing the
fencing was illegal.
The court ordered U.S. immigration authorities not to destroy
the fencing while Texas appeals the judge's ruling. The judge
had refused to block the destruction of the fencing pending the
outcome of the state's lawsuit.
The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the U.S.
Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
The concertina wire fencing was installed on private property
along the Rio Grande river by the Texas National Guard as part
of Operation Lone Star, which was launched by Republican Texas
Governor Greg Abbott in 2021 to deter illegal border crossings.
The initiative has spurred a series of court cases, including a
lawsuit filed on Tuesday challenging a new Texas law that allows
state officials to arrest, prosecute, and deport people who
illegally cross the border.
The state's lawsuit over the razor wire claims U.S. Customs and
Border Protection agents recently stepped up an existing
practice of cutting, destroying or otherwise damaging fencing
that the state had strategically placed on private land with
landowners' permission.
Last month, a federal judge criticized the Biden administration
for its "utter failure" to prevent unlawful entry into the
United States. But she said Texas had not shown that it had
legal standing to challenge the federal government's conduct.
The 5th Circuit on Tuesday said the judge had misinterpreted a
law granting the U.S. government immunity from some legal claims
by states, and that Texas was likely to prevail in its lawsuit.
"The public interest supports clear protections for property
rights from government intrusion and control," Circuit Judge
Kyle Duncan wrote for the court.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by
Leslie Adler, Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
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