Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

The Biden administration has requested the Supreme Court to grant Border Patrol agents the authority to cut, remove, or relocate razor wire installed by Texas on the US-Mexico border.

This move by Texas, part of an extensive effort to curb illegal border crossings, has ignited a legal battle between the state and the federal government. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stated that agents have the legal right to access borderlands, and Texas’s actions are obstructing their duties, significantly “hindering” them from reaching migrants who have illegally entered the US.

Prelogar, in her argument, says the current injunction “prohibits agents from passing through or moving physical obstacles erected by the state that prevent access to the very border they are charged with patrolling and the individuals they are [tasked] with apprehending and inspecting.”

This comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott has taken various measures that he says will deter illegal migration. Under Governor Gregg Abbott’s directive, Texas laid the razor wire near Eagle Pass along the Rio Grande River. When federal agents cut the wire, Texas accused them of trespassing and causing damage to state property, leading to a legal standoff. While a federal judge initially sided with the federal government, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals last month favored Texas, restricting agents’ ability to alter the wire barring medical emergencies.