Texas authorities have continued to install razor wire at the southern border despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted federal agents access to cut through such obstacles.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety employees would continue to install wire "to repel illegal immigration."
"Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent against the illegal border crossings encouraged by Biden's open border policies," Abbott posted Wednesday on X with a photo of soldiers working with the wire. "We continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration."
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to temporarily let U.S. Border Patrol agents cut or remove razor-wire fencing that Texas officials placed along part of the state's border with Mexico to deter illegal border crossings.
The justices, in a 5-4 decision, granted a request by President Joe Biden's administration to pause a lower court's ruling that temporarily blocked federal agents from disturbing the fencing while litigation over the issue proceeds.
Abbott then ordered additional razor wire to be installed. The governor took to X to say the fight "is not over."
"Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages. I will continue to defend Texas' constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property," the governor wrote Monday night.
Texas officials this month cordoned off Shelby Park in Eagle Pass and stationed state National Guard units at the location to block anyone, including Border Patrol agents who hadn't been granted prior approval, from entering, the New York Post reported.
Biden's Justice Department has threatened to sue Texas if it allowed state authorities to arrest and prosecute illegal immigrants through a law slated to take effect in March.
The DOJ also has filed suit against the state over its construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande. An appeals court recently ruled that the barrier can stay in the river.
Abbott has bused nearly 100,000 migrants from the southern border to Democrat-run cities including New York and Chicago.
A CBP source told Newsmax earlier this month there were about 302,000 encounters at the southern border in December, surpassing the record for a month of 269,735 in September.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the CBP website had not been updated with the official monthly encounters total for December.
Reuters contributed to this story.