Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal court for cutting through and destroying razor-wire barriers Texas officials have placed along the southern border to deter illegal crossings.
Mr. Paxton filed the lawsuit in Texas’ western federal court district on Tuesday, naming the DHS, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the U.S. Border Patrol as defendants in the case.
The lawsuit comes as Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sought to prevent illegal border crossings through an effort known as Operation Lone Star. The operation has seen the Texas Department of Public Safety and members of the Texas National Guard set up concertina razor wire barriers along the Rio Grande.
In June, Border Patrol agents were caught on video cutting through the rows of razor wire and holding the wire fencing aside to allow a group of illegal immigrants to set foot on Texas soil.
According to the complaint, incidents like the one in June have continued. The lawsuit specifically claimed CBP personnel created numerous breach points along these rows of razor wire near Eagle Pass, Texas, in September and October, as the town began dealing with a surge of illegal immigrants.
The lawsuit alleges CBP personnel have also begun attaching ropes to their pickup trucks to throw to illegal border crossers to help them climb up at steep points on the riverbanks on the Texas side of the Rio Grande.
The lawsuit accuses the various defendants of destroying Texas’ property by cutting and removing the fences. The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of “trespass to chattels”—a legal term describing one party’s interference with a second party’s ability to use its property.
The lawsuit also argues the various defendants exceeded their legal authority by cutting and moving aside the razor wire barriers.
“No statute authorizes Defendants to destroy and seize border infrastructure belonging to another sovereign in order to facilitate unlawful entry of aliens into the United States,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit further argues that the DHS is bound by the Administrative Procedures Act to give notice and allow for public comment before cutting and removing the razor wire barriers.
Injunction Sought
Mr. Paxton is seeking an injunction to prevent DHS personnel from continuing to cut through Texas’ razor wire barriers for the duration of the lawsuit and is asking for a judge to ultimately rule that the efforts by DHS personnel to cut through Texas’ razor wire barriers are unlawful.
“Texas has the sovereign right to construct border barriers to prevent the entry of illegal aliens,” Mr. Paxton said on Tuesday as he announced the lawsuit.
“Americans across the country were horrified to watch Biden’s open-border policy in action: agents were physically cutting wires and assisting the aliens’ entry into our state. This is illegal. It puts our country and our citizens at risk. The courts must put a stop to it, or Biden’s free-for-all will make this crushing immigration crisis even worse.”
In response to an NTD News request for comment, a DHS spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation but said Border Patrol agents generally have a responsibility to take illegal border crossers into custody once they set foot on U.S. soil.
The DHS spokesperson said federal border officials are also generally required to act “when there are conditions that put our workforce or migrants at risk.”
In a statement following the June wire-cutting incident, a CBP spokesperson similarly told NTD News that federal border personnel were acting in line with their duties to apprehend and process people who had already crossed over to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.
“The individuals had already crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico, were on U.S. soil, and are subject to U.S. immigration laws,” the CBP spokesperson said at the time of the June incident.
“Individuals who cross unlawfully will be subject to the lawful pathways rule, which places common-sense conditions on asylum eligibility, with certain exceptions. Those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed.”
The “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Final Rule” or “lawful pathways rule” stipulates that migrants who try to enter the United States at any point other than a designated port of entry face a presumption of ineligibility for entry into the United States. This presumption of ineligibility is rebuttable, but those who fail to make their case and are ordered removed are barred from reentry into the United States for at least five years.