By Tom Ozimek
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sharply criticized the Biden administration’s legal actions to force Arizona to dismantle a makeshift border wall and later to allow federal agents to remove Texas’s razor wire barrier, accusing the executive branch under President Joe Biden of “actively aiding illegal immigration.”
Mr. Musk made the remark in a message on X, commenting on a post by the End Wokeness account that pointed out that the Biden administration sued both Arizona and Texas over the states’ respective efforts to bolster the security of their border communities amid record waves of people crossing into the United States unlawfully.
The Biden administration’s legal challenges to Arizona’s and Texas’ efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigration led to court decisions against the states.
In Arizona’s case, it led to the removal of the makeshift barrier while in regards to Texas, a Jan. 22 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court allowed federal agents to cut concertina wire barriers.
“The only time Joe Biden takes action on the invasion is to block states from stopping it,” the End Wokness account charged.
Mr. Musk expressed sympathy with that view.
“This administration is actively aiding illegal immigration,” he wrote in his post.
In a similarly strongly worded rebuke to the Biden administration’s legal efforts to block states from implementing their own border security measures, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) charged that the Biden administration is “staging a civil war” by cutting Texas’s razor wire barriers.
By contrast, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) praised the recent Supreme Court ruling that lets federal agents continue cutting Texas’s concertina wire barriers.
“Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility,” the spokesperson said in a statement to some media outlets.
“Rather than helping to reduce irregular migration, the State of Texas has only made it harder for frontline personnel to do their jobs and to apply consequences under the law. We can enforce our laws and administer them safely, humanely, and in an orderly way.”Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement on Jan. 22 that the Supreme Court ruling “allows Biden to continue his illegal effort to aid the foreign invasion of America.”
“The destruction of Texas’s border barriers will not help enforce the law or keep American citizens safe,” he continued. “This fight is not over, and I look forward to defending our state’s sovereignty.”
Razor Wire Dispute
Arizona set up a makeshift border wall constructed out of shipping containers in the summer of 2022, with former Gov. Doug Ducey justifying the move by pointing to the Biden administration’s “lack of urgency on border security.” After the Biden administration sued, Mr. Ducey agreed to dismantle the makeshift wall.
Separately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered razor wire to be installed in order to deter illegal border crossings, while also authorizing floating barriers in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, and allowing troopers to arrest and jail thousands of illegal immigrants on trespassing charges.
Installation of the razor wire sparked a tense, ongoing legal dispute with the Biden administration, which sought to assert federal supremacy in enforcing border policy and ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to cut the wire.
The State of Texas then sued the Biden administration on Oct. 24, 2023, over what state officials said was the CBP’s practice of “cutting, destroying, or otherwise damaging Texas’s concertina wire that had been strategically positioned for the purpose of securing the border and stemming the flow of illegal migration,” according to the filing.
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses, on Oct. 30, 2023, sided with Texas and granted a temporary restraining order against Biden administration agencies until the parties had the opportunity to present evidence at a preliminary hearing.
‘Culpable and Duplicitous Conduct’
Later, Judge Moses, on Nov. 29, 2023, denied Texas’s request, citing insufficient evidence that Border Patrol agents who cut the wire had violated the law. However, the judge was sharply critical of the Biden administration’s enforcement of border policies.
“The immigration system at the heart of it all, dysfunctional and flawed as it is, would work if properly implemented. Instead, the status quo is a harmful mixture of political rancor, ego, and economic and geopolitical realities that serves no one,” Judge Moses wrote in the order.
“The law may be on the side of the defendants and compel a resolution in their favor today, but it does not excuse their culpable and duplicitous conduct,” she added.
Texas immediately appealed the order, with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the state’s favor, pausing Judge Moses’ order that gave Border Patrol agents legal cover to keep cutting the concertina wire. The appeals court said the lower court “legally erred with respect to sovereign immunity” and stated that the razor wire could only be cut in cases of medical emergency.
The Biden administration then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that if the appeals court’s reasoning stands, then it would force the federal government to conform the implementation of federal immigration laws to state rules.
“Balanced against the impairment of federal law enforcement and risk to human life, the court of appeals cited as Texas’s harm only the price of wire and the cost of closing a gap created by Border Patrol agents,” the Biden administration said in its appeal.
“Balanced against the impairment of federal law enforcement and risk to human life, the court of appeals cited as Texas’s harm only the price of wire and the cost of closing a gap created by Border Patrol agents,” the Biden administration said in its appeal.
Then, on Jan. 22, 2024, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, voting 5–4 to vacate the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and allowing Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire while the legal challenge plays out.
Meanwhile, despite the Supreme Court ruling, Texas has not made any moves to take down existing fencing and is pressing ahead with previously scheduled installation of more razor wire.
