Republicans are mounting another battle against the Biden administration over the razor wire Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Georgia Rep. Mike Collins introduced a new bill on Wednesday to ban the Department of Homeland Security from tearing down the wire placed along the U.S.-Mexico border by the state of Texas.
The RAZOR Act, Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders, comes just after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration by allowing them to remove the wire.
The Biden administration says the razor-studded wire makes it hard for them to reach migrants who are crawling up the bank of the river on the U.S. side.
Georgia Rep. Mike Collins introduced a new bill on Wednesday to ban the Department of Homeland Security from tearing down the wire placed along the U.S.-Mexico border by the state of Texas
The Supreme Court has allowed Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas installed on the border in a victory for the Biden administration
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country in India as the SCOTUS ruling was made, but vowed to continue fighting to secure the border
The justices voted 5-4 to grant an emergency appeal from the Biden administration during an escalating standoff with Abbott over whether the state or federal government has authority to secure the border in the hot spot of Eagle Pass, Texas.
Conservative-appointed Justices Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts sided with liberal justices on the matter.
‘The Biden Administration has repeatedly cut wire that Texas installed to stop illegal crossings, opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants,’ Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told DailyMail.com of the ruling.
‘The absence of razor wire and other deterrence strategies encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry, while making the job of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers more dangerous and difficult.’
Some Republicans suggested Abbott simply ignore the ruling.
‘This opinion is unconscionable and Texas should ignore it on behalf of the (Border Patrol) agents who will be put in a worse position by the opinion and the Biden administration’s policies,’ U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., offered a similar sentiment: ‘My thoughts are that the feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground.’
Federal officials say this is a critical stretch of the border where they often need to respond quickly to emergencies. Texas officials have largely stopped federal agents from patrolling the border there and instead state troopers have stepped in to arrest people for crossing into the state of Texas.
Texas officials have insisted the ruling only applies to the wire and does not impede them from asserting authority over migrant apprehension.
Abbott ordered the installation of miles of concertina wire in multiple areas of the Texas-Mexico border that are known to be high-traffic areas for migrants crossing into the US.
Many of these migrants are asylum-seekers who are not trying to sneak into the country undetected.
After crossing the border illegally, they seek out US Border Patrol agents so they can surrender to them and ask for asylum.
Miles and several layers of the wire are located in many cities and regions of the Texas-Mexico border– a border that is 1,254 miles long.
However, the SCOTUS ruling is based off an emergency appeal by the Biden Administration stemming from a dispute in Eagle Pass.
Under the order of the Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas soldiers fenced off Shelby Park January 10 with razor wire and other fencing, even though the land is owned by the City of Eagle Pass.
Abbott claimed the move was meant to stop the historic number of illegal immigrant entries at Shelby Park in recent weeks.
In the week before Christmas, more than 22,000 asylum-seeking migrants crossed the river separating the US from Mexico and into Shelby Park to get inside Eagle Pass, that only has a population of 28,000.
The influx strained resources and cost local taxpayers thousands of dollars a day.
It’s unclear how effective the wire has been at keeping migrants out who usually scale it or crawl through it
The razor wire and other Texas border barriers have been added by the Texas National Guard
Migrants, including those with children, make it past the wire regularly
However, the feud escalated after the Border Patrol agents claimed Texas National Guard troops prevented them from entering the state-controlled area to help save a migrant woman and two children from drowning.
The state claimed the migrants had already drowned by the time Border Patrol was made aware.
The Biden’s Department of Justice filed a request late Monday with the Supreme Court to force the state to give Border Patrol agents access.
The razor wire is part of Abbott’s border security plan known as Operation Lone Star.
Launched in March 2021, many of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star initiatives have been controversial and have pitted the Republican governor with the White House over jurisdiction.
Abbott has also put buoys in the Rio Grande to act as a deterrent, but they have also been wrapped up in a legal battle.
Earlier this month the Biden administration sued to block a new Texas law which empowers state officials to essentially deport people who are suspected of crossing the border illegally.