Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) said Tuesday that his state will "not back down" after the Supreme Court ruled that President Joe Biden's administration can continue cutting razor wire along the state's border with Mexico.
"The Texas National Guard continues to hold the line in Eagle Pass," Abbott wrote on X. "Texas will not back down from our efforts to secure the border in Biden’s absence." Members of the Texas National Guard earlier this month seized a section of the border near Eagle Pass, a highly trafficked crossing point, and blocked federal agents from accessing the area.
In the aftermath of the Monday ruling, Abbott said on X that the matter was "not over" and vowed to "continue to defend Texas's constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property."
At least one Texas leader at the federal level encouraged the state to tell the court to "go to hell" and ignore the ruling.
"They have a duty under the Constitution … and every other norm of leadership of any sovereign state, to protect your citizens, period, full stop. There is no exception to that," Rep. Chip Roy (R.) told Fox News on Tuesday. "And if the Supreme Court wants to ignore that truth, which a slim majority did, Texas still had the duty, Texas leaders still have the duty, to defend their people."
The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision came after a months-long legal battle between the state and the federal government over the razor wire. Texas in October sued to stop the Biden administration from cutting the concertina wire, leading a district judge to ultimately rule against the state. After Texas appealed the decision, a circuit court overturned the district's opinion, leading the administration to seek relief from the High Court.