(Reuters) -A divided U.S. appeals court on Wednesday blocked the Biden administration from destroying razor-wire fencing that Texas placed along its border with Mexico to deter illegal migration, while the Republican-led state pursues a lawsuit accusing federal authorities of trespassing.
In a 2-1 decision, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge who said a Texas trespassing law cannot be applied to the federal government, and U.S. immigration authorities were immune from the state’s lawsuit.
The appeals court said Texas is entitled to a preliminary injunction, because the state is seeking only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” Border Patrol. It also said Texas has shown it will likely succeed on its trespass claims.
Many Republicans have blamed Biden for an increase in the number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The administration has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter and punish illegal migration.
In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot-long floating barrier in the Rio Grande.
The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would let state officials arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.
Separately, the Biden administration has sued Iowa and Oklahoma for passing similar laws, which it says interfere with federal enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi)
