Biden administration asks Supreme Court to let Border Patrol remove razor wire on US-Mexico border

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN

(CNN) — The Biden administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the US Border Patrol to remove razor wire at the US-Mexico border – another escalation in the dispute between President Joe Biden and Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over border policy.

The dispute is over whether the Border Patrol has the legal authority to cut concertina wire that Texas had installed on the banks of the Rio Grande. The state of Texas sued last year to stop the wire cutting, saying it illegally destroys state property and undermines security in order to assist migrants in crossing the border.

A federal appeals court last month ordered Border Patrol agents to stop the practice while court proceedings play out, and the Justice Department has now filed an emergency application, asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

In court documents, the Biden administration has said that agents cut the wire to provide medical assistance to migrants who need it, or to apprehend migrants who have already crossed into US territory.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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