Texas Governor Greg Abbott said more razor wire will be installed on the state’s border with Mexico as he continues a standoff with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration enforcement, Newsweek reports.
Abbott wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday:
More National Guard & razor wire barriers are coming to the Texas border. We’ re-doubling our efforts to expand the areas where we are denying illegal entry into Texas. Illegal immigration is now going down in Texas while increasing in [California] & [Arizona].
Texans have set up rows of razor wire in Shelby Park, which has become one of the most sought-after spots for migrants trying to cross the US border illegally from Mexico. It is one of several measures Abbott has been forced to take to save his state from a huge illegal migrant flow.
In January, Texas seized control of Shelby Park and began denying Border Patrol agents entry, escalating a feud with the Biden administration. The Justice Department claims the wire prevents the government from patrolling the border and coming to the aid of migrants in need of help.
Last month, the US Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration and allowed Border Patrol agents to cut or remove the wire. However, Texas officials said the state has a “constitutional right to self-defence”.
At a news conference in Shelby Park on Thursday, Abbott said Texas intends to send more National Guard troops and increase the number of razor wire fences.
The tools and strategies that [the Texas Department of Public Safety] and the Texas Military Department use to secure the border would not happen without members of the Texas Legislature, like those with me here today. Working together, we will expand current operations in other parts of the border to decrease illegal immigration and ensure that we add more soldiers in the border region.
Days earlier, the governor made similar statements while visiting the border with 12 other Republican governors.
