WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The state of Texas will continue to defend its portion of the US border with Mexico amid a standoff with the Biden administration over the use of razor wire barriers, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Texas will continue to exercise its constitutional right to protect and defend our southern border,” Abbott said on Friday via social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “In President Biden\u2019s absence, we will hold the line to keep Texans – and Americans – safe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, the US Supreme Court issued a temporary order to allow Border Patrol agents to remove the barriers placed by Texas. The following day, Department of Homeland Security General Counsel Jonathan Meyer sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requesting that the state confirm federal access to border sites by Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Abbott maintains that Texas has a constitutional right to\u00a0protect the border<\/a>\u00a0due to the Biden administration\u2019s failure to address the record flow of illegal immigrants into the United States from Mexico.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Texas\u2019 border security effort, dubbed Operation Lone Star, has led to nearly half a million illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 38,700 criminal arrests, Abbott\u2019s office said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n