Texas Governor Risks Lives for Political Points, Despite Supreme Court Ruling

A New Testament Bible in Spanish and English lies under razor wire near the bank of the Rio Grande where immigrants had waded across on January 9, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/via Getty Images)

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court determined that federal immigration agents were able to follow an order from President Biden to remove the razor wire deterrent that Texas state officials had set up along some sections of the US border with Mexico. Despite this latest finding, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has not only refused to remove any of the initial razor wire, he has added more wire.

A ruling in October of last year by the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had barred the federal government from removing the razor wire that was initially put in place by National Guard soldiers, at the direction of Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX).

Texas National Guard troops install additional razor wire at the US-Mexico border on December 20, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/via Getty Images)

But, Monday’s 5-4 ruling, considered to be a major victory for the Biden administration, saw Conservative Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett breaking away to agree with the liberal justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The majority found that the federal government’s supremacy in this arena was clear, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented with that finding.