US Supreme court sides with Biden in Texas border dispute

WASHINGTON - The United States Supreme Court voted on Jan 22 to

let the Biden administration

remove concertina wire border barriers that Texas erected to fight illegal immigration from Mexico – a hot-button issue in this election year.

The barriers are the brainchild of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump, who is making immigration one of the key tools of his bid to retake the White House in November.

Mr Abbott has accused President Joe Biden of “deliberate inaction” as record numbers of Central Americans and people of other nationalities have streamed across the US-Mexico border in recent months.

In December 2023, a federal appeals court barred the Biden government from removing the concertina wire barrier from the banks of the Rio Grande near the town of Eagle Pass, except in case of a medical emergency.

In January, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to remove this injunction in an emergency application while the court considered the full merits of the case.

The court voted 5-4 on Jan 22, including the support of Chief Justice John Roberts, to side with the Biden administration.

Neither side gave reasons for their vote, which is common when the court decides on emergency petitions.

Mr Abbott has made national headlines by

bussing immigrants to cities seen as traditionally liberal,

such as New York, as part of his campaign to draw attention to what he calls Mr Biden’s failed border policy.

On Jan 11, the Texas National Guard seized control of a park in Eagle Pass that lies along the Rio Grande, a move that heightened tensions with the Biden administration.

The Justice Department has accused the governor of preventing federal border agents from doing their job by denying them access to the border, even in the event of an emergency, along a 3.7km stretch of the river. But Texas authorities refute this allegation. AFP