FILE - Birds rest on concertina wire, or razor wire, along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, July 6, 2023. A federal judge on Monday, Oct. 30, ordered Border Patrol agents not to interfere with razor wire that Texas has installed at a busy crossing for migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border, keeping in place, for now, one of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s newest aggressive measures over immigration.
The temporary restraining order signed by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses allows federal agents to cut the wire in order to “provide emergency medical aid” to migrants, some of whom were gashed or snagged by the wire after crossing the Rio Grande seeking to enter Texas. But Moses otherwise ruled that the barriers should remain intact for now as a court case over the barrier moves forward.
The razor wire is part of Abbott’s sprawling border security mission, known as Operation Lone Star, which seeks to both deter migrants from entering from Mexico and funnel those who do cross to ports of entry. Migrants of all ages, including children, have received Abbott has turned Eagle Pass into the epicenter of his border mission that has pushed the boundaries of immigration enforcement. Over the past two years, Texas has putHe is now seeking to give all Texas police the authority to arrest migrants and order them to leave the country under legislation that Republicans are moving through the state legislature.
Texas contends the federal government is “undermining” their border security efforts by cutting the razor wire. In the lawsuit, the state pointed out that thousands of migrants