Border Patrol has "no plans" to remove razor wire placed by Texas along the southern border, a senior Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official told Fox News on Friday, stressing a "strong" relationship with Texas despite an ongoing legal battle between the state and the administration.
Texas is currently locked in a multi-pronged legal fight with the federal government over the security of the Texas-Mexico border. The federal government has threatened legal action over Texas’ recent seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass, while lawsuits are ongoing over the administration’s cutting of razor wire set up by Texas and the establishment of buoys in the Rio Grande. Texas has declared that it has a right to "self-defense" against what it says is a migrant "invasion."
On Monday, the Supreme Court found in the administration's favor when it granted an emergency appeal to allow agents to keep cutting border wire set up by Texas after a lower court had blocked such moves. Texas has continued to fortify the border, and has also indicated it will not comply with the administration’s demands for it to vacate the Shelby Park area.
ABBOTT DECLARES TEXAS HAS ‘RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE’ FROM MIGRANT ‘INVASION’ AMID FEUD WITH BIDEN ADMIN
"[President Biden's] actions have caused an unprecedented invasion that we must defend against," Abbott said on Thursday.
The Biden administration has said that Texas is interfering with the federal enforcement of immigration law.
"Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility," a DHS spokesperson said this week. "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."
Dozens of Republican governors have backed Texas as the feud between the state and the feds escalates. But a senior CBP official told Fox that the relationship between Texas and Border Patrol officials on the ground is "strong."
"While this issue plays out in the courts, the relationship between Border Patrol, Texas DPS [Department of Public Safety], & TMD [Texas Military Dept.] remains strong," the official said. "Our focus is and will always be the mission of protecting this country and its people. On the ground, we continue to work alongside these valuable partners in that endeavor."
"Bottom line: Border Patrol has no plans to remove infrastructure (c-wire) placed by Texas along the border. Our posture remains the same. If we need to access an area for emergency response, we will do so. When that happens, we will coordinate with Texas DPS & TMD"
TEXAS AG PAXTON PROMISES ‘FIGHT IS NOT OVER’ AFTER SCOTUS RULE ON BIDEN ADMIN'S RAZOR WIRE CUTTING
That sentiment was echoed by the Border Patrol union, which in a lengthy statement dismissed the idea that Border Patrol agents could start arresting Texas National Guard members.
"TX NG and rank-and-file BP agents work together and respect each other's jobs. Period. If TX NG members have LAWFUL orders, then they have to carry out those orders," the National Border Patrol Council said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Rank-and-file BP agents appreciate and respect what TX has been doing to defend their state in the midst of this catastrophe that the Biden Admin has unleashed on America," the statement said. "We want to be perfectly clear, there is no fight between rank-and-file BP agents and the TX NG, Gov. Abott, or TX DPS. It may make flashy headlines, but it simply isn't true."
