A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked the federal government from destroying a razor-wire fence that Texas installed along the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass to deter migrants from entering the country illegally.
The statement, criticized by activists, came hours before Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told newly elected President Donald Trump that immigrants heading to the US are being “hosted” in her country.
Texas had installed more than 46 miles of wire in the Eagle Pass area last September when Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration over Border Patrol agents’ alleged illegal destruction of state property by cutting the wire.
On Wednesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans issued a 2-1 opinion that reversed a lower court’s ruling and granted Texas a limited preliminary injunction against the federal government.
“It was shocking to me that the federal government went out of its way to cut razor wire so illegals could cross the border, when all we were trying to do was protect our own country,” Paxton said during an appearance on Newsmax on Wednesday night. ‘This wasn’t their country. This was our land, our private property. It owed nothing to the federal government. So this is a good win for Texas, a good win for the country, that this court recognizes our ability to protect our country.”
The legal dispute had not stopped Texas from installing such razor wire in Eagle Pass, where the state took over a municipal park, Shelby Park, against the city’s wishes earlier this year.
“We continue to add more barbed wire border barriers,” Governor Greg Abbott wrote on X on Wednesday evening about the appeals court ruling.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
America Garcia Grewal, organizer of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, criticized Wednesday’s ruling, calling the wire “an instrument of war, not a humane border control measure.”
“The long-term consequences of this decision are dire,” Garcia said. “It sets a dangerous precedent for the use of excessive force and disregard for human rights. We must move towards a more humane and effective approach to border management.”
The statement came as tensions appeared to cool this week between Trump and Sheinbaum over a possible tariff war. Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico upon taking office unless Mexican officials stop drugs, especially fentanyl, and undocumented migrants from crossing the border — although apprehensions of migrants have declined this year. Sheinbaum vowed to impose retaliatory tariffs if Trump made good on his threat.
Trump and Sheinbaum spoke Wednesday, the two leaders said on social media, and discussed how to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S.-Mexico border and how to reduce fentanyl consumption and demand for the drug in the United States.
“I had an excellent conversation with President Donald Trump,” Sheinbaum wrote on the social media site Mexico.”
Trump called the conversation “great” and “productive” in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
“She has agreed to stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border,” Trump said.
In a follow-up post, Trump said: “Mexico will stop people from going to our southern border immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG ROAD TO STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE US. Thank you!!!”
Joshua Fechter contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared in El Paso Times: Feds Can’t Destroy Barbed Wire Installed Near Border, Appeals Court Rules
